*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of swarf

From Middle English *swarf, *swerf, from Old English ġeswearf, ġesweorf (“iron filings; rust”) and/or Old Norse svarf (“metallic dust”), both from Proto-Germanic *swarbą (“that which is rubbed off; shavings”), from Proto

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To grind down.

noun

The waste chips or shavings from an abrasive activity, such as metalworking, a saw cutting wood, or the use of a grindstone or whetstone. · A particular waste chip or shaving.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English *swarf, *swerf, from Old English ġeswearf, ġesweorf (“iron filings; rust”) and/or Old Norse svarf (“metallic dust”), both from Proto-Germanic *swarbą (“that which is rubbed off; shavings”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to mop, wipe; to rub off”); see further at swerve. The word is cognate to Old English sweorfan (“to rub, scour; to file”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*swarf"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *swarf"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġeswearf"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġeswearf"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "svarf",
        "4": "",
        "5": "metallic dust"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse svarf (“metallic dust”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*swarbą",
        "4": "",
        "5": "that which is rubbed off; shavings"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *swarbą (“that which is rubbed off; shavings”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*swerbaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to mop, wipe; to rub off"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to mop, wipe; to rub off”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "sweorfan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to rub, scour; to file"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sweorfan (“to rub, scour; to file”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*swarf",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/swarf"
    ],
    [
      "*swerf",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/swerf"
    ],
    [
      "ġeswearf",
      "geswearf#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġesweorf",
      "gesweorf#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "svarf",
      "svarf#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*swarbą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swarbą"
    ],
    [
      "*swerbaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swerbaną"
    ],
    [
      "swerve",
      "swerve#English"
    ],
    [
      "sweorfan",
      "sweorfan#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To grind down."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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    },
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      "glosses": [
        "The waste chips or shavings from an abrasive activity, such as metalworking, a saw cutting wood, or the use of a grindstone or whetstone.",
        "A particular waste chip or shaving."
      ],
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        "uncountable",
        "countable"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To grow languid; to faint.

noun

A faint or swoon.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English swarven, swerven (“to go; to deviate, turn aside; to stagger, be unsteady; to swerve”), from Old English sweorfan (“to wipe; to polish; to rub, scour; to file”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to mop, wipe; to rub off”). The word is cognate to Middle Dutch swerven (“to rove; to stray”) (whence Dutch zwerven (“to roam”)), Low German swarven (“to rove; to stray; to riot”), Old Norse svarfa (“to sweep; to be agitated, upset”), Norwegian svarva (“to agitate”), sverva (“to whirl”). See swerve.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "swarven"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English swarven"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sweorfan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to wipe; to polish; to rub, scour; to file"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sweorfan (“to wipe; to polish; to rub, scour; to file”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*swerbaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to mop, wipe; to rub off"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to mop, wipe; to rub off”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "swerven",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to rove; to stray"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch swerven (“to rove; to stray”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "zwerven",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to roam"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch zwerven (“to roam”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "swarven",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to rove; to stray; to riot"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German swarven (“to rove; to stray; to riot”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "svarfa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to sweep; to be agitated, upset"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse svarfa (“to sweep; to be agitated, upset”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "svarva",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to agitate"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian svarva (“to agitate”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "swarven",
      "swarven#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "swerven",
      "swerven#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sweorfan",
      "sweorfan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*swerbaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swerbaną"
    ],
    [
      "swerven",
      "swerven#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "zwerven",
      "zwerven#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "swarven",
      "swarven#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "svarfa",
      "svarfa#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "svarva",
      "svarva#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "sverva",
      "sverva#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "swerve",
      "swerve#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To grow languid; to faint."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "intransitive",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A faint or swoon."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for swarf →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3dhcmY