swipe

Meanings

Verb

• To grab or bat quickly.
• To strike with a strong blow in a sweeping motion.
• To scan or register by sliding (a swipecard etc.) through a reader.
• To interact with a touch screen by drawing one's finger rapidly across it.
• To draw (one's finger) rapidly across a touch screen.
• To steal or snatch.

Noun

• A quick grab, bat, or other motion with the hand or paw; a sweep.
• A strong blow given with a sweeping motion, as with a bat or club.
• An act of interacting with a touch screen by drawing the finger rapidly across it.
• An act of passing a swipecard through a card reader.
• A rough guess; an estimate or swag.
• An attack, insult or critical remark.
• Poor, weak beer or other inferior alcoholic beverage; rotgut.

Origin

• From earlier swip (with a short vowel), from Middle English swippen, swipen, from Old English swipian, sweopian, swippan, from Proto-Germanic *swipōną, *swipjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sweyb-. Cognate with German schwippen ("to whip"), Danish svippe ("to smack; crack a whip"), Icelandic svipa ("to whip; move swiftly"). Related to sweep, swoop.