swath means the track cut out by a scythe in mowing. It carries an Arena rating of 1652, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, swath ranks #160 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #824 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,064 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,267 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
swath is pronounced /swɒθ/.
Why “swath” is a great word
A broad strip or track, such as the path cut by a mower or a wide expanse of land. From Middle English swath, swathe, from Old English swæþ, swaþu ('track, trace, footstep'), from Proto-Germanic *swaþō ('a wind-swept place, open field'), of unknown further origin. Attested in English since 888. Unlike a 'strip'—which suggests a detached, uniform ribbon—or an 'expanse'—which implies an undifferentiated vastness—a swath is a linear track made, a corridor of change defined by the action that created it. It is the pale, fragrant corridor left by a scythe through wet grass, the raw, dark earth turned over by a ploughshare, or the startling, cleared void a hurricane tears through a forest—a visible record of force and passage scored upon the earth, a scar that fades toward memory.
Etymology
From Middle English swath, swathe, from Old English swæþ, swaþu (“track; trace; footstep”), from Proto-Germanic *swaþō (“a wind-swept place; open field”), of unknown further origin. Has been derived from a Proto-Indo-European *swey- (“to bend, turn, swing”), and compared with Ancient Greek σιμός (simós, “snub-nosed”) and Welsh chwil (“reeling, staggering”), though this is uncertain, as well as the Greek comparandum being unlikely. Cognate with Dutch zwade, zwad (“swath; windrow”), German Schwade (“swath; windrow”), Icelandic svæði (“area; zone; sector; region”). other etymological information Corresponds to Middle Low German and Middle Dutch swat, Middle High German and MNG swade, NDu swad(e), Old Frisian swethe (“border”). Root meaning: trace of a cut. Attested in English since 888 in its
noun
- The track cut out by a scythe in mowing.
- A broad sweep or expanse, such as of land or of people.e.g.“A large swath of the population is opposed to this government policy.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- swathy 74% match — Of or like a swathe, in mowing. vs swath →
- scythe 61% match — An instrument for mowing grass, grain, etc. by hand, composed of a long, curving blade with a sharp concave edge, fastened to a long handle called a snath. vs swath →
- swale 59% match — A low tract of moist or marshy land. vs swath →
- sward 58% match — Earth which grass has grown into the upper layer of; greensward, sod, turf; (countable) a portion of such earth. vs swath →
- enswathe 56% match — To swathe or envelop (someone or something), as in swaddling clothes. vs swath →
- swathe 56% match — A bandage; a band. vs swath →
- greensward 54% match — A tract of land that is green with grass. vs swath →
- swidden 54% match — An area of land that has been cleared by cutting the vegetation and burning it; slash and burn. vs swath →