swerve
/swɝv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.95 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To go out of a straight line; to deflect.
verb
To wander from any line prescribed, or from a rule or duty; to depart from what is established by law, duty, custom, or the like; to deviate.
verb
To turn aside or deviate to avoid impact.
verb
Of a projectile, to travel in a curved line
Example Sentences
- "A maid thitherward did run, / To catch her sparrow which from her did swerve."
- "with the slipping of the pommel , the point swerved"
- "I swerve not from thy commandments."
- "They swerve from the strict letter of the law."
- "[T]here are many Perſons, who, through the Heat of their Luſts and Paſſions, through the Contagion of Ill Example, or too deep an Immerſion in the Affairs of Life, ſwerve exceedingly from the Rules of their Holy Faith; […]"
- "The battle swerved."
Etymology
From Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to rub off; wipe; mop”), from Proto-Indo-European *swerbʰ- (“to turn; wipe; sweep”). Cognate with West Frisian swerve (“to wander; roam; swerve”), Dutch zwerven (“to wander; stray; roam”), Low German swarven (“to swerve; wander; riot”), Swedish dialectal svärva (“to wipe”), Icelandic sverfa (“to file”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: swerven, sweorfan, *swerbaną, *swerbʰ-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /swɝv/
- British English: /swɜːv/