sweep

Pronunciation

• IPA: /swiːp/^[1]

Etymology

Middle English swepen is of uncertain origin,^[2][3] but replaced swope, sweep (about 1200), inherited from Old English swāpan (“to sweep”) (see swoop),^[2][3][4] perhaps by extending the ē of the past tense swēop.^[4][3] It is related to German schweifen, to sweep in a curve.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To clear away with a brush or broom, and figuratively to move swiftly and strongly: probably before 1200, in Layamon's Brut.^[2] Etymonline dates sweeping with a broom from the early 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To move swiftly and strongly is from the late 14th century,^[3][4] and to carry forward by force from about 1400.^[3] The noun was first a stroke or force (about 1250),^[2] or a whip;^[3] an act of sweeping is from 1552.^[2][6] The scope of a sweeping movement is from 1679.^[2] A military or police sweep across a wide area is from 1837.^[3][6] Winning all the tricks in a card game is from 1814, extended to sports by 1960.^[3][6] A chimney sweep, short for sweeper, is attested by 1796.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1200 – to sweep with a broom.^[2]
• c. 1250 – a stroke (noun).^[2]
• late 14th century – to move swiftly.^[3]
• 1552 – an act of sweeping.^[2][6]
• 1796 – a chimney sweep.^[3]
• 1837 – a military sweep.^[3][6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To clean or clear with a broom or brush.
2. To move swiftly and smoothly or with force.
3. To search an area thoroughly, as for hidden listening devices.
4. To win every game in a series.

Noun

1. An act of sweeping.
2. A wide curving movement or extent: the sweep of the bay.
3. A chimney sweep.
4. A thorough search of an area.

Word family

• sweeper
• sweepable
• resweep
• sweepback
• sweepy
• upsweep
• outsweep
• sweepstake

Related words

• swoop
• swipe

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press