swap

swap · verb¹

1. Old English · inherited fromswāpan“to swoop”
2. Old English · inherited from*swappian
3. Middle English · inherited fromswappen“to swap”
4. English todayswap

From Middle English swappen (“to swap”), originally meaning "to hurl" or "to strike", the word alludes to striking hands together when making an exchange; probably from Old English *swappian, a secondary form of Old English swāpan (“to swoop”). Cognate with German schwappen (“to slosh, slop”). Compare also Middle English swippen (“to strike, hit”), from Old English swipian (“to scourge, strike, beat, lash”), Old Norse svipa (“to swoop, flash, whip, look after, look around”). More at swipe.

swap · noun²

From the verb swap. First attested in 1620.

swap · noun³

1. Middle English · inherited fromswap
2. English todayswap

From Middle English swap, swappe (“a blow, strike, lash from a whip”), from the verb (see Etymology 1 above).

Words from the same roots