Yawed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To sway laterally during movement or navigation while altering position or angle in a non-linear fashion
2. To veer off course through a lateral shift, resulting in a rotation that changes the directional orientation
3. To shift direction by turning or rotating away from a direct course

Etymology: "Yawed" is simply the past tense and past participle of "yaw," a verb meaning to swing off a straight course. The verb is first attested in the mid-16th century, and its origin is uncertain. One suggestion links it to "yar," an Old English-era word meaning quick or agile, which fits a ship that swerves and turns. The other possibility is a borrowing from a foreign-language source, though the exact pathway is not settled. For a word used of ships, the sense of sudden lurching fits its likely connection to nautical movement. A vessel that yaws is pushed away from its intended heading by wind or waves, and the verb carried that image into English.

Synonyms: turned, swerved, veered, wobbled, tilted

Antonyms: steady, aligned, straightened, fixed, stabilized