schwenken

hat geschwenkt

schwenkte

Meanings

to wave, to turn

(The core is that you "make" something swing, not an object swinging by itself. Can be a slow waving of an object like a flag for example, but it can also be a one time thing, like panning with a camera or turning with a car. )

to toss

(In cooking. Think of prawns in a wok, for example.)

Word Family tap to show/hide

Root: *su̯enk-

The core idea of this root was:

bending, swaying, swinging

It’s still quite visible in German words like schwanken and schwenken and even in Schwanz (tail). Just think of a dog waving it :).
The adjective schwach started out as bendable, from where it is not far to its current meaning weak.

The English etymological sources I am using do not mention this root.
But according to the German sources, it would be the origin of the English words to swing, to sway and possibly also swag.

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