Swerven

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To veer off a straight path abruptly, as a driver might to avoid an obstacle ; a sudden shift away from the expected line or course of travel
2. Making an abrupt sideways turn away from one's intended direction ; the act of a sharp deviation from a planned route or trajectory
3. To swerve means to change course quickly and sharply ; a swerve is that sudden departure from a straight line or set path

Etymology: Before it meant to veer, the Old English ancestor of this verb, "sweorfan," meant to scrape, scour, or rub something clean. Rubbing a surface in a sweeping motion is a short step from turning a body sideways out of a straight course, and that is the sense that later took over. "Swerven" is an older form of the verb that survives as "swerve." In Middle English it covered both a physical turning aside and a figurative drifting from the right path, such as going astray in conduct or belief. The modern verb kept the motion but lost the idea of scraping, so a car swerving to avoid an obstacle carries no trace of the original cleaning sense.