Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1996) gives only the swath spelling; even more curiously, he claims that it is pronounced “sworth” (as if it rhymes with southern British “fourth”). OED lists swath by itself, thus: 1 swath1, swathe . (And see how it related to “track”?). swathe: 1 v wrap in swaddling clothes Synonyms: swaddle Type of: bind make fast; tie or secure, with or as if with a rope n an enveloping bandage Synonyms: wrapping Type of: bandage , patch a piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body Definition of cut a swathe through in the Idioms Dictionary. Curiously, R.W. The noun and verb meaning ‘a bandage or wrapping’ and ‘to wrap in bandages’ is spelt… Swathe [swaythe] functions as both a noun and as a verb. and fig. Definition of swath. The verb swathe means “to wrap up, swaddle or bandage.” If all you want from this article is to know how to pronounce swath and swathe, please skip the middle and read the part that begins, “My advice to speakers.” If like me you enjoy exploring changes in pronunciation, read the middle as well. This is endorsed by the American Merriam-Webster dictionary, which spells this word swath. Even though a scythe is not that wide, “swath” seems to have grown in scale. It refers to (1) the width of a scythe stroke, (2) a path made by mowing, or (3) something likened to a path made by mowing. Swath vs. swathe. Despite its Style Guide’s restriction of swathe to the word for strips of material in which something is wrapped, or swathed (like a baby in swaddling clothes), this spelling is frequently used in place of swath, as in this headline from 2010: ‘Public spending axe to cut swathe through private sector’. Brown, a poet and literature professor at Howard University, published a forthright essay charting the history of Black life in his hometown of Washington, DC—from the district’s early status as the “very seat and center” of... Eleven newsletters to subscribe to if you work in media, Delacorte Lectures on Magazine Journalism, Magazines and their websites: A CJR survey and report, © Copyright 2020 Columbia Journalism Review. In Middle English the term denoted a measure of the width of grassland, probably reckoned by a sweep of the mower's scythe. Our direct support platform is free and simple to use so that together, we can make a difference every day. The spelling swath stood out to me – I would spell this word swathe. “Swath” and swathe” are so close, in fact, that they share an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. Because, the OED says, “Swath” and swathe” are “phonetically ambiguous,” though they sound very different. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Swath. To wrap or bind in bandages. SWATH Perseus van het Loodswezen in Hoek van Holland SWATH ("Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull") is een rompontwerp dat net zoals de catamaran twee rompen heeft. But the OED says the phrase is “Now frequently to cut a wide swath.” Americans always like to supersize things. swathe definition: 1. a long strip or large area especially of land: 2. a large part of something that includes…. Something likened to a swath, especially a strip, path, or extension: "the motor humming as a girl on skis cut a swath … “Swath” is probably also going to be more familiar to audiences. Despite its Style Guide’s restriction of swathe to the word for strips of material in which something is wrapped, or swathed (like a baby in swaddling clothes), this spelling is frequently used in place of swath, as in this headline from 2010: ‘Public spending axe to cut swathe through private sector’. Both spellings swath and swathe are clearly acceptable, but swathe seems the more common in British usage. Although this spelling may be etymologically justified, it should properly be a spending scythe rather than an axe. (verb) Clouds swathed the mountain. Verb (swath) To bind with a swathe, band, bandage, or rollers. It seems that the high winds cut a swath through our neighborhood last night, blowing down trees and power lines on nearly every street. Yes, swath to rhyme with moth and swathe to rhyme with bathe. “Swath” is frequently accompanied by its close friend “wide,” or one of “wide’s” cousins, “vast,” “broad,” or “large.” “Narrow,” “little,” and “small,” are rarely invited to the “swath” party. This spelling is etymologically justified, since the word descends from Old English swæþ, with a short vowel. The verb “swathe,” meaning “To envelop in a swathe or swathes; to wrap up, swaddle, bandage,” traces to the 12th century, the OED says. The noun and verb meaning ‘a bandage or wrapping’ and ‘to wrap in bandages’ is spelt… Either that, or the gentleman in question merely pronounces the word differently. By 1647, a “swatch” had become a sample of cloth, then a sample of anything. 2 : a long broad strip or belt. Another word for swath: area, section, stretch, patch, tract | Collins English Thesaurus As is often the way when consulting dictionaries and usage guides, things are not much clearer than when I began. to enfold or envelop, as wrappings do. to bandage. Additional information. To wrap, as in layers of cloth: swathed herself in towels. Swathe is usually a verb, meaning, primarily, to wrap or bind with or as if with bandage. Rare a stroke with a scythe 3. a Change ), For anyone interested in words and spellings, Spelling Trouble prepares to bring in the harvest. 2 swath2, swathe . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. We make it easy to give practical support to someone you know, even when you can’t be there in person. It’s also likely to “cut a wide swath” in the slang sense, appearing pompous, and could mow down a “swath” of your readers. Using “swathe” as a noun is likely to have readers thinking for a second that it’s the verb “swathe,” meaning to wrap in “swaths” of bandages. Searching The Guardian online reveals that this is true of that paper too. 2. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. But since the sixteenth century this word has been pronounced with a long vowel, and spelled accordingly; early spellings include swaithe, sweath and swathe. ing, swathes. For a time in the 16th century, a “swatch” was also a row of cut corn or grass, even though we already had “swath.” Of course, we didn’t have good dictionaries then, either. The verb swathe means “to wrap up, swaddle or bandage.”. It seems that the high winds cut a swath through our neighborhood last night, blowing down trees and power lines on nearly every street. The word swath is derived from the Old English word swæth, which means trace or track.. ing. The OED says the etymology of “swatch” is unknown, so it may or may not related to “swath.”. 3 : a … ICYMI: A big day for The Denver Post newsroom staff. As nouns the difference between swath and swatch is that swath is the track cut out by a scythe in mowing while swatch is a piece, pattern, or sample, generally of cloth or a similar material. ( Log Out /  Burchfield’s third edition of H.W. NOTE: The noun swath denotes the narrow path of cut grass made by a scythe or mower. Another close relative of “swath” is “swatch,” as in an article discussing a hailstorm that “cut across a wide swatch of the region.” (Note that the online headline, though, used “wide swath.” There they go again. swathe 1 (swoᵺ, swāᵺ), USA pronunciation v., swathed, swath•ing, n. v.t. to wrap, bind, or swaddle with bands of some material; wrap up closely or fully. That spike in the use of “swatch” starting around 1980 may be tied to the introduction of “Swatch” watches in the late 1970s. As a noun, swathe means “a band of linen, woolen, or other material in which something is enveloped.” As a verb, swathe means, “to envelop in a swathe or swathes; to wrap up, swaddle, bandage.” cut a swathe through phrase. Today’s Guardian newspaper has an article alerting its readers to the threat of smog, which begins: ‘People across large swaths of England and Wales have been put on high alert over severe levels of air pollution smothering the south coast and several major cities’. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English의 정의 swathe swathe 1 / sweɪð $ swɑːð, swɒːð, sweɪð / (also swath / swɒθ $ swɑːθ /) noun [countable] 1 a long thin area of something, especially land swathe of The bomb had left a swathe of the town centre in ruins. Of “swath,” “swathe,” and “swatch,” “swath” is the most common, according to this Google N-gram showing its appearance in books since 1800 or so. 1. a. The origin of “swatch,” the OED says, was 1527, defined as “The ‘foil’ or ‘counterstock’ of a tally (obsolete); in Yorkshire, a tally ‘affixed to a piece of cloth before it is put with others into the dye-kettle.’” Of course it was. If you repeat that n-gram search with “Swatch” instead of “swatch,” you’ll see that “Swatch” outperformed “swath” for a time in the early part of the 21st century, before sharply falling (though whether there is a connection with the popularity of the watches themselves, we can’t say). Searching The Guardian online reveals that this is true of that paper too. Definition of swathe in the Idioms Dictionary. Everything we do at Swathe.me makes every day better during difficult times. But look at the fourth definition: “swath,” referring readers to the second definition of “swath,” “a long broad strip or belt.”. Daniel Jones Pronouncing Dictionary This British reference, published 1967, gives one pronunciation for the spelling … ( Log Out /  noun Word forms: plural swaths (swɔːðz) or swathes 1. the width of one sweep of a scythe or of the blade of a mowing machine 2. 2 : envelop a mountain swathed by clouds. Oppervlakte van de waterlijn zo klein mogelijk is a tornado “ carved a swath the... Either that, or swaddle with or as if with bandage meanings of swathe ( Entry 2 of )! A fraternal twin, “ swath ” has a fraternal twin, “ swathe ” are so,. To supersize things especially of land: 2. a large part of something that includes… this disambiguation page articles! 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