swath
/swɑθ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Acronym of small waterplane area twin hull, a ship design philosophy for reducing pitching and rolling, and increasing stability, in all sea states.
Example Sentences
- "A large swath of the population is opposed to this government policy."
- "Five days after Hurricane Katrina, large swaths of New Orleans are still submerged in water."
- "It is undeniable that Malcolm was a beacon of huge strength in his lifetime. He could connect with swaths of people when others could not."
Etymology
From Middle English swath, swathe, from Old English swæþ, swaþu (“track; trace; footstep”), from Proto-Germanic *swaþō (“a wind-swept place; open field”), of unknown further origin. Has been derived from a Proto-Indo-European *swey- (“to bend, turn, swing”), and compared with Ancient Greek σιμός (simós, “snub-nosed”) and Welsh chwil (“reeling, staggering”), though this is uncertain, as well as the Greek comparandum being unlikely. Cognate with Dutch zwade, zwad (“swath; windrow”), German Schwade (“swath; windrow”), Icelandic svæði (“area; zone; sector; region”). other etymological information Corresponds to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch swat, Middle High German and MNG swade, NDu swad(e), Old Frisian swethe (“border”). Root meaning: trace of a cut. Attested in English since 888 in its obsolete meaning of track or trace, since 1475 in its more modern usage. Cognate with German Schwaden (“row of mown grass or grain”). No definite cognates outside Germanic languages. * See F. Kluge, Etymologisches Wörterbuch (De Gruyter), entry Schwaden, and OED.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: swath, swæþ, *swaþō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /swɑθ/
- British English: /swɒθ/