“sways” is a form of
sway
/ˈsweɪ̯/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms sways swaying swayed
- noun The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.
- noun A rocking or swinging motion. “The old song caused a little sway in everyone in the room.”
- noun Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side “I doubt I'll hold much sway with someone so powerful.”
- noun Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
- noun Rule; dominion; control; power.
- noun A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
- noun (automotive) The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion.
- noun Synonym of sweet flag (“Acorus calamus”)
- verb (intransitive) To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock. “sway to the music”
- verb (transitive) To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield. “to sway the sceptre”
- verb (transitive) To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade. “Do you think you can sway their decision?”
- verb (transitive) To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; to warp. “reeds swayed by the wind”
- verb (nautical, transitive) To hoist (a mast or yard) into position. “to sway up the yards”
- verb To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
- verb To have weight or influence.
- verb To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
- proper noun A village and civil parish in New Forest district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SZ2798).
Synonyms
sweet flag careen rock waver play tilt shake swing carry persuade
Etymology
From earlier swey (“to fall, swoon”), from Middle English sweyen, from Old English *swǣġan (“to bend, bow”), from Proto-West Germanic *swaigijan, from Proto-Germanic *swaigijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₁-
See also Saterland Frisian swooie (“to swing, wave, wobble”); also Lithuanian svai̇̃gti (“to become giddy or dizzy”), the second element of Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌-𐬱𐬑𐬎𐬀𐬑𐬙𐬀 (paⁱri-šxuaxta, “to surround”), Sanskrit स्वजते (svájate, “he embraces, enfolds”).
The noun derived from the verb.
From Old English svieia (“noisy stream”) (see swegan (“to make a noise”)), probably referring to the river Avon.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to sway the scepter.
- verb To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide.
- verb To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
- verb To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward.
Etymology [OE. sweyen, Icel. sveigja, akin to E. swing; cf. D. zwaaijen to wield, swing. See Swing, and cf. Swag, v. i.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sway”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details