swivel

[swiv-uh l]

See more synonyms for swivel on Thesaurus.com

noun

a fastening device that allows the thing fastened to turn around freely upon it, especially to turn in a full circle.
such a device consisting of two parts, each of which turns around independently, as a compound link of a chain, one part of which turns freely in the other by means of a headed pin or the like.
a pivoted support allowing a gun to turn around in a horizontal plane.

a swivel gun.
a device attached to a loom and used as a shuttle to weave extra threads in the production of small figures, especially dots.

verb (used with object), swiv·eled, swiv·el·ing or (especially British) swiv·elled, swiv·el·ling.

to turn or pivot on or as if on a swivel: He swiveled his chair around.
to fasten by a swivel; furnish with a swivel.

verb (used without object), swiv·eled, swiv·el·ing or (especially British) swiv·elled, swiv·el·ling.

to turn on or if as on a swivel.

Origin of swivel

1275–1325; Middle English (noun), equivalent to swiv- (weak stem of Old English swīfan to revolve; cognate with Old Norse svīfa to turn) + -el instrumental suffix

Related formsswiv·el·like, adjectiveun·swiv·el, verb (used with object), un·swiv·eled, un·swiv·el·ing or (especially British) un·swiv·elled, un·swiv·el·ling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for swivel

pivot, rotate, revolve, whirl, hinge, turn, pirouette

Examples from the Web for swivel

Contemporary Examples of swivel

Swivel Store Spice Rack Okay, so this is an As Seen On Television product.
The 2012 Holiday Kitchen Gift Guide
Megan McArdle
December 13, 2012
He sits, leans back in his swivel chair and begins to discuss his SATC character, Aleksandr Petrovsky.
Baryshnikov Unbound
Ross Kenneth Urken
May 17, 2009

Historical Examples of swivel

He whirled about in his swivel chair, and blew a cloud of smoke from his mouth.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
The fat man grunted and hoisted himself out of the swivel chair.
Dream Town
Henry Slesar
Even as they watched the gun moved on its swivel base, whirring underneath.
The Gun
Philip K. Dick
Smoke-ring cannon for hail storms, swivel mounted, bow or stern.
With The Night Mail
Rudyard Kipling
From the platform of the swivel they looked abroad over the sea.
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 20, August 1877
Various

British Dictionary definitions for swivel

swivel

noun

a coupling device which allows an attached object to turn freely
such a device made of two parts which turn independently, such as a compound link of a chain
1. a pivot on which is mounted a gun that may be swung from side to side in a horizontal plane
2. Also called: swivel gunthe gun itself

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

to turn or swing on or as if on a pivot
(tr) to provide with, secure by, or support with a swivel

Derived Formsswivel-like, adjective

Word Origin for swivel

C14: from Old English swīfan to turn; see swift

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for swivel

c.1300, from frequentative form of stem of Old English verb swifan "to move in a course, sweep" (a class I strong verb), from Proto-Germanic *swipanan (cf. Old Frisian swiva "to be uncertain," Old Norse svifa "to rove, ramble, drift"), from PIE root *swei- "swing, bend, move in a sweeping manner." Middle English swive was the principal slang for "to have sexual intercourse with," a sense that developed c.1300. This probably explains why, though the root is verbal, the verb swivel is not attested in Modern English until 1794. Cf. Middle English phrase smal-swivinge men "men who copulate infrequently."

1794, from swivel (n.). Related: Swiveled; swiveling; swivelled; swivelling.