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Webster 1913 Edition

Swerve

Swerve

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Swerved
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Swerving
.]
[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.
swaírban
(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

,
Verb.
T.
To turn aside.
Gauden.

Webster 1828 Edition

Swerve

SWERVE

,
Verb.
I.
swerv.
1.
To wander; to rove.
The swerving vines on the tall elms prevail.
2.
To wander from any line prescribed, or from a rule of duty; to depart from what is established by law, duty or custom; to deviate.
I swerve not from thy commandments.
They swerve from the strict letter of the law.
Many who, through the contagion of evil example, swerve exceedingly from the rules of their holy religion--
3.
To bend; to incline.
4.
To climb or move forward by winding or turning.
The tree was high,
Yet nimbly up from bough to bough I swerv'd.
[This use of the word coincides with that of swarm, which see.]

Definition 2024

swerve

swerve

English

Alternative forms

Verb

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

  1. (archaic) To stray; to wander; to rove.
    • Sir Philip Sidney
      A maid thitherward did run, / To catch her sparrow which from her did swerve.
  2. To go out of a straight line; to deflect.
    • Sir Philip Sidney
      The point [of the sword] swerved.
  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.
    • Book of Common Prayer
      I swerve not from thy commandments.
    • Clarendon
      They swerve from the strict letter of the law.
    • Atterbury
      many who, through the contagion of evil example, swerve exceedingly from the rules of their holy religion
  4. To bend; to incline.
    • Milton
      The battle swerved.
  5. To climb or move upward by winding or turning.
    • Dryden
      The tree was high; / Yet nimbly up from bough to bough I swerved.
  6. To turn aside or deviate to avoid impact.
  7. of a projectile, to travel in a curved line
    • 2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC:
      Snodgrass also saw a free-kick swerve just wide before Arsenal, with Walcott and Fabregas by now off the bench, turned their vastly superior possession into chances in the closing moments

Related terms

Translations

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”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /swɜː(ɹ)v/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(r)v

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