Swiple
(Swi"ple) n. [See Swipe.] That part of a flail which strikes the grain in thrashing; a swingel.
[Written also swipel, and swipple.]
Swipper
(Swip"per) a. [From AS. swipian to whip, shake, whirl; akin to swapan to sweep. See Swoop.]
Nimble; quick. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Slang]
Swirl
(Swirl) v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Swirled ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swirling.] [Akin to Norw. svirla to
whirl, freq. of sverra to whirl, Dan. svirre, G. schwirren to whiz, to buzz. &radic177. See Swarm,
n.] To whirl, or cause to whirl, as in an eddy. "The river swirled along." C. Kingsley.
Swirl
(Swirl), n. A whirling motion; an eddy, as of water; a whirl. "The silent swirl of bats." Mrs. Browning.
Swish
(Swish) v. t. [From the sound. Cf. Swash.]
1. To flourish, so as to make the sound swish. Coleridge.
2. To flog; to lash. [Slang] Thackeray.
Swish
(Swish), v. i. To dash; to swash.
Swish
(Swish), n.
1. A sound of quick movement, as of something whirled through the air. [Colloq.]
2. (Naut.) Light driven spray. [Eng.]
Swiss
(Swiss) n.sing. & pl. [F. Suisse, of German origin. Cf. Switzer.] A native or inhabitant of Switzerland; a
Switzer; the people of Switzerland.
Swiss
(Swiss), a. Of or pertaining to Switzerland, or the people of Switzerland.
Switch
(Switch) n. [Cf. OD. swick a scourage, a whip. Cf. Swink, Swing.]
1. A small, flexible twig or rod.
Mauritania, on the fifth medal, leads a horse with something like a thread; in her other hand she holds a
switch.
Addison. 2. (Railways) A movable part of a rail; or of opposite rails, for transferring cars from one track to another.
3. A separate mass or trees of hair, or of some substance (at jute) made to resemble hair, worn on the
head by women.
4. (Elec.) A mechanical device for shifting an electric current to another circuit.
Safety switch (Railways),
a form of switch contrived to prevent or lessen the danger of derailment of
trains. — Switch back (Railways), an arrangement of tracks whereby elevations otherwise insurmountable
are passed. The track ascends by a series of zigzags, the engine running alternately forward and back,
until the summit is reached. — Switch board (Elec.), a collection of switches in one piece of apparatus,
so arranged that a number of circuits may be connected or combined in any desired manner. — Switch
grass. (Bot.) See under Grass.
Switch
(Switch), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Switched ; p. pr. & vb. n. Switching.]
1. To strike with a switch or small flexible rod; to whip. Chapman.
2. To swing or whisk; as, to switch a cane.