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Swath
Definitions
- 1 The track cut out by a scythe in mowing.
- 2 Acronym of small waterplane area twin hull, a ship design philosophy for reducing pitching and rolling, and increasing stability, in all sea states. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 a path or strip (as cut by one course of mowing) wordnet
- 4 A broad sweep or expanse, such as of land or of people. figuratively, often
"A large swath of the population is opposed to this government policy."
- 5 the space created by the swing of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English swath, swathe, from Old English swæþ, swaþu (“track; trace; footstep”), from Proto-Germanic *swaþō (“a wind-swept place; open field”), 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.
See also for "swath"
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