sway
Meanings
noun
- The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.
- A rocking or swinging motion.
- Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side
- Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
- Rule; dominion; control; power.
- A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
- The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion.
- Synonym of sweet flag (“Acorus calamus”)
verb
- To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock.
- To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield.
- To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade.
- To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; to warp.
- To hoist (a mast or yard) into position.
- To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
- To have weight or influence.
- To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
name
- A village and civil parish in New Forest district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SZ2798).
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From earlier swey (“to fall, swoon”), from Middle English sweyen, from Old English *swǣġan (“to bend, bow”), from Proto-West Germanic *swaigijan, from Proto-Germanic *swaigijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₁- See also Saterland Frisian swooie (“to swing, wave, wobble”); also Lithuanian svai̇̃gti (“to become giddy or dizzy”), the second element of Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌-𐬱𐬑𐬎𐬀𐬑𐬙𐬀 (paⁱri-šxuaxta, “to surround”), Sanskrit स्वजते (svájate, “he embraces, enfolds”). The noun derived from the verb.
Synonyms
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