swivel

English

(mechanical) heavy-duty swivel

Swivel (ordnance), Isle of Wight, UK

Etymology

From Middle English swyvel, swivel, from a derivative of Old English swīfan (“to revolve”), + -el, an instrumental suffix, equivalent to swive +‎ -el.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈswɪvəl/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɪvəl

Noun

swivel (countable and uncountable, plural swivels)

(mechanical) A piece, such as a ring or hook, attached to another piece by a pin, in such a manner as to permit rotation about the pin as an axis.
- 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict‎:
  The patter of feet, and clatter of strap and swivel, seemed to swell into a bewildering din, but they were almost upon the fielato offices, where the carretera entered the town, before a rifle flashed.
(military) A small piece of ordnance, turning on a point or swivel; called also swivel gun.
- 1796, John Stedman, Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition, London: J. Johnson, Volume 1, Chapter 4, p. 81,
  [The settlement] was entirely surrounded by a broad unfordable marsh or swamp, which prevented all communication, except by private paths under water, known only to the rebels, and before which Baron had placed loaded swivels […]
- 1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
  Applied to guns mounted upon the cartridges were fired without being tripods , stands , swivels , or carriages
(slang, uncountable) Strength of mind or character that enables one to overcome adversity; confidence; force of will.
Bob ain't got no swivel.
The act of swivelling.
(dance) A rotating of the hips.
(fishing) A small, usually ball- or barrel-shaped device used in angling to connect sections of fishing lines, consisting of two rings linked via a thrust bearing pivot joint.

Derived terms

keep one's head on a swivel
swivel bridge
swivel chary
swivel gun
swivel hook
swivel joint
swivel knife
swivelly

Translations

piece to permit rotation

Afrikaans: wartel
Chinese:
Mandarin: 转节 (zh), 旋轴
Dutch: wartel (nl)
Esperanto: turnkruco
Finnish: leikari (fi)
French: émerillon (fr) m
German: Wirbel (de) m
Irish: udalán m
Japanese: スイベル (suiberu)
Plautdietsch: Woawel f
Portuguese: elo giratório m
Russian: вертлю́г (ru) m (vertljúg)
Slovak: otočný čap, obrtlík
Spanish: eslabón giratorio

military: small piece of ordnance — see swivel gun

slang: strength of mind or character

Finnish: muna (fi)

dance: rotating of the hips

Finnish: lanteiden pyöritys

Verb

swivel (third-person singular simple present swivels, present participle swiveling or swivelling, simple past and past participle swiveled or swivelled)

(intransitive) To swing or turn, as on a pin or pivot.
- 2013, Delme Parfitt in Wales Online, Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City: Steven Caulker heads Bluebirds to South Wales derby win (3 November 2013)
  As expected, Swansea began the game with some patient passing and the first chance fell to striker Michu in the fourth minute when he controlled a cross by Jonjo Shelvey and swivelled in the penalty box, only to fire over the bar.

Translations

to swing or turn, as on a pin or pivot

Bulgarian: въртя се около ос (vǎrtja se okolo os)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 转动 (zh)
Esperanto: pivoti
French: pivoter (fr)
German: pivotieren (de)

References

swivel in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

wevils