swive

swive · verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*swībaną“to wipe, sweep”
2. Old English · inherited fromswīfan“to move, sweep, wend, revolve”
3. Middle English · inherited fromswiven
4. English todayswive

From Middle English swiven, from Old English swīfan (“to move, sweep, wend, revolve”), from Proto-Germanic *swībaną (“to wipe, sweep”). Cognate with Old Frisian swīva, swīfa (“to waver”), Old Norse svīfa (“to drift, ramble, rove”), Norwegian Nynorsk sviva (“to rotate, wander”). Related to Old English swift (“swift”), Middle English swyvel (“swivel”).

swive · noun²

Blend of swim + dive

Words from the same roots