swerve

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*swerbʰ-“to turn; wipe; sweep”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*swerbaną“to rub off; wipe; mop”
3. Old English · inherited fromsweorfan“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”
4. Middle English · inherited fromswerven
5. English todayswerve

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”).

Words from the same roots