English
swoop
Swoop comes from Middle English swopen ‘to sweep’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *swaipaną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaipaną‘to sweep’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swaipan‘to sweep’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150swāpan‘to sweep’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swopen‘to sweep’
- Englishearliest quotation 1612swoop
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaipaną‘to sweep’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swaipan‘to sweep’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150swāpan‘to sweep’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swopen‘to sweep’
- Englishearliest quotation 1612swoop
Earliest quotation: 1612, Michael Drayton, (please specify the chapter): “Proude Tamer swoopes along, with such a lustie traine…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *swaipaną ‘to sweep’
through Old English swāpan ‘to sweep’
through Middle English swopen ‘to sweep’
Today it means
verb To fly or glide downwards suddenly; to plunge (in the air) or nosedive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *swaipaną / swoop