English
swap
Swap comes from Middle English swappen ‘to swap’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swappen‘to swap’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954swap
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swappen‘to swap’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954swap
Earliest quotation: 1954, Edward Eager: “And he whipped his sword out of its scabbard,…”
The story
From Middle English swappen (‘to swap’), originally meaning "to hurl" or "to strike", the word alludes to striking hands together when making an exchange; probably from Old English *swappian, a secondary form of Old English swāpan (‘to swoop’).
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *swaipaną ‘to sweep’
through Proto-West Germanic *swaipan ‘to sweep’
through Old English swāpan ‘to swoop’
Today it means
verb To exchange or give (something) in an non-normal exchange (for something else).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English swappen / swap