swipper

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sweyb-“to bend, turn, swing, sway, swerve, wander”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*swipraz“quick, clever”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*swipr
4. Old English · inherited fromswipor
5. Middle English · inherited fromswiper“agile, nimble”
6. English todayswipper

From Middle English swiper (“agile, nimble”), from Old English swipor, ġeswipor (“astute, cunning, shifty”), from Proto-West Germanic *swipr, from Proto-Germanic *swipraz (“quick, clever”), from Proto-Indo-European *sweyb- (“to bend, turn, swing, sway, swerve, wander”), equivalent to swipe + -er. See swoop.

Words from the same roots