swerve

Definition

To stray; to wander; to rove.

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”).

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."

Related Words