swarf

Plural: swarfs

Noun

Waste material, like metal filings, produced by a cutting tool.
The waste chips or shavings from an abrasive activity, such as metalworking, a saw cutting wood, or the use of a grindstone or whetstone.
A particular waste chip or shaving.
A faint or swoon.

Verb

To grind down.
To grow languid; to faint.

Examples

He meticulously cleaned the SWARF from his workshop, just as he cleared his rack of weak tiles.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English *swarf, *swerf, from Old English ġeswearf, ġesweorf (“iron filings; rust”) and/or Old Norse svarf (“metallic dust”), both from Proto-Germanic *swarbą (“that which is rubbed off; shavings”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to mop, wipe; to rub off”); see further at swerve. The word is cognate to Old English sweorfan (“to rub, scour; to file”).

Synonyms

turnings

Scrabble Score: 11

swarf: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
swarf: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
swarf: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

swarf: valid Words With Friends Word