swath
Plural: swaths
Noun
- A path or strip of material cut by a scythe or machine.
- the space created by the swing of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine
- a path or strip (as cut by one course of mowing)
- The track cut out by a scythe in mowing.
- A broad sweep or expanse, such as of land or of people.
Examples
- A large swath of the population is opposed to this government policy.
- Five days after Hurricane Katrina, large swaths of New Orleans are still submerged in water.
- His bingo, SWATHING, created a wide SWATH across the Scrabble board, clearing many letters.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English swath, swathe, from Old English swæþ, swaþu (“track; trace; footstep; mark; vestige; scar”), from Proto-Germanic *swaþō (“a wind-swept place; open field; borderland; terrain”), of unknown further origin. Has been derived from a Proto-Indo-European *swey- (“to bend, turn, swing”), and compared with Ancient Greek σιμός (simós, “snub-nosed”) and Welsh chwil (“reeling, staggering”), though this is uncertain, as well as the Greek comparandum being unlikely. Cognate with Dutch zwade, zwad (“swath; windrow”), German Schwade (“swath; windrow”), Icelandic svæði (“area; zone; sector; region”).
other etymological information
Corresponds to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch swat, Middle High German and MNG swade, NDu swad(e), Old Frisian swethe (“border”).
Root meaning: trace of a cut.
Attested in English since 888 in its obsolete meaning of track or trace, since 1475 in its more modern usage.
Cognate with German Schwaden (“row of mown grass or grain”).
No definite cognates outside Germanic languages.
* See F. Kluge, Etymologisches Wörterbuch (De Gruyter), entry Schwaden, and OED.
Synonyms
Scrabble Score: 11
swath: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordswath: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
swath: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary