Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “swerving” come from?

Swerving comes from Middle English swarven, from Old English sweorfan, from Proto-Germanic swerbaną, from Proto-Indo-European swerbʰ-.

swerving (English): Variable, unsteady; An unpredictable change of...

Definitions

  1. Variable, unsteady; An unpredictable change of...

Ancestry of “swerving”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishswerveTo stray; to wander; to rove; To go out of a...
2Middle EnglishswervenTo leave ; to rotate away from; To move or go...
3Old Englishsweorfanto scour, polish, file, rub
4Proto-Germanicswerbanąto rub; wipe; polish; to file
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswerbʰ-to turn; wipe; sweep

Words derived from “swerving”

  • unswerving
  • unswervingly
  • swervingly
  • unswervingness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swerbʰ- →