SWERVE

swerve, swerving, veering

(noun) the act of turning aside suddenly

yaw, swerve

(noun) an erratic deflection from an intended course

swerve, sheer, curve, trend, veer, slue, slew, cut

(verb) turn sharply; change direction abruptly; “The car cut to the left at the intersection”; “The motorbike veered to the right”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

swerve (third-person singular simple present swerves, present participle swerving, simple past and past participle swerved)

(archaic) To stray; to wander; to rove.

To go out of a straight line; to deflect.

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.

To bend; to incline.

To climb or move upward by winding or turning.

To turn aside or deviate to avoid impact.

Of a projectile, to travel in a curved line

To drive in the trajectory of another vehicle to stop it, to cut off.

Noun

swerve (plural swerves)

A sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collision.

A deviation from duty or custom.

Anagrams

• Wevers

Source: Wiktionary


Swerve, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Swerved; p. pr. & vb. n. Swerving.] Etym: [OE. swerven, AS. sweorfan to wipe off, to file, to polish; akin to OFries. swerva to creep, D. zwerven to swerve, to rope, OS. swerban to wipe off, MHG. swerben to be whirled, OHG. swerban to wipe off, Icel. sverfa to file, Goth. swaĂ­rban (in comp.) to wipe, and perhaps to E. swarm. Cf. Swarm.]

1. To stray; to wander; to rope. [Obs.] A maid thitherward did run, To catch her sparrow which from her did swerve. Sir P. Sidney.

2. To go out of a straight line; to deflect. "The point [of the sword] swerved." Sir P. Sidney.

3. 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. I swerve not from thy commandments. Bk. of Com. Prayer. They swerve from the strict letter of the law. Clarendon. Many who, through the contagion of evil example, swerve exceedingly from the rules of their holy religion. Atterbury.

4. To bend; to incline. "The battle swerved." Milton.

5. To climb or move upward by winding or turning. The tree was high; Yet nimbly up from bough to bough I swerved. Dryden.

Swerve, v. t.

Definition: To turn aside. Gauden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 December 2024

UNAMBIGUOUS

(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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