DictionaryRoot: swipe
English

swipe

heavy blow, driving stroke

1 / 2
A young adult South Asian man slides his index finger quickly across a smartphone screen, with a short drawn motion stroke making the sideways swipe clear.
verb / noun

swipe

SWYPE/swaɪp/

A rapid sliding sweep across something.

Etymology

The noun swipe meant a heavy blow, and the verb first meant giving a stroke with a sweeping motion. That sweeping motion connects it to moving a card across a reader; the noun’s deeper origin is uncertain.

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