swap
pronunciation
How to pronounce swap in British English:
UK [swɒp]
How to pronounce swap in American English:
US [swɑːp]
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- Noun:
- an equal exchange
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- Verb:
- exchange or give (something) in exchange for
- move (a piece of a program) into memory, in computer science
Word Origin
- swap
- swap: [14] Swap originally meant ‘hit’ (‘With a swing of his sword [he] swapped him in the face’, Destruction of Troy 1400). It came from a prehistoric Germanic base denoting ‘hit’ (presumably imitative of the sound of hitting), which also produced German schwappen ‘splash, whack’. The modern English sense ‘exchange’ emerged in the 16th century from the notion of ‘striking the hands together to seal a bargain’.
- swap (v.)
- c. 1200, "to strike, strike the hands together," of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of the sound of hitting or slapping. The sense of "to exchange, barter, trade" is first recorded 1590s, possibly from the notion of slapping hands together as a sign of agreement in bargaining (as in strike a bargain). Related: Swapped; swapping. The noun in this sense is attested from 1620s; earlier "a striking, an act of striking" (mid-13c.). Swap-meet attested from 1968, American English.
Example
- 1. Caught off guard , murdoch petitioned the federal communications commission and a delaware court to block the stock swap .
- 2. Swap creamy sauces for tomato or vegetable based options .
- 3. The next great development in risk management was the swap .
- 4. Children would swap sought-after cards for food or toys .
- 5. That neat job swap could be portrayed as a triumph for russian democracy .