1650s, "mop made of rope or yarn," from swabber (c. 1600) "mop for cleaning a ship's deck," from Dutch zwabber, akin to West Frisian swabber "mop," from Proto-Germanic *swabb-, perhaps of imitative origin, denoting back-and-forth motion, especially in liquid.
Non-nautical meaning "anything used for mopping up" is from 1787; as "cloth or sponge on a handle to cleanse the mouth, etc.," from 1854. Slang meaning "a sailor" first attested 1798, short for swabber "member of a ship's crew assigned to swab decks" (1590s), which by c. 1600 was being used in a broader sense of "one who behaves like a low-ranking sailor, one fit only to use a swab."
swab (v.)
1719, possibly a back-formation from swabber (see swab (n.)). Related: Swabbed; swabbing. Related: Swabification "mopping" (1833).
双语例句
1. to take a throat swab
用棉签从咽部采集化验样品
来自《权威词典》
2. Yet I kind of think I've - yes, I've seen the swab.
不过,我好像记起来了 —— 是的, 我见过这狗东西.
来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
3. Administer the salve to the sunburned area with a cotton swab.
请用棉药签把药膏敷在晒伤的地方.
来自辞典例句
4. We have to swab out the sitting - room before your mother comes back.
我们得在你妈妈回来之前把客厅擦洗干净.
来自互联网
5. She used cotton wool to swab her wounds when they bled.
