Dictionary

swatting en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle English especial English special Proto-Germanic *wēpną Proto-West Germanic *wāpn Old English wēpn Middle English wepen English weapons Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Germanic *andi Old English and Middle English and English and Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-der. Proto-Hellenic *tat͏̌t͏̌ō Ancient Greek τάσσω (tássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τικός (-tikós) Ancient Greek τακτικός (taktikós)bor. New Latin tacticabor. English tactics English S.W.A.T. English SWAT Proto-Germanic *-ungō Old English -ung Middle English -ynge English -ing English swatting From SWAT + -ing.

Meanings

1. A motion or gesture that swats; a swat.
   • This […] evoked a new disorder — a tendency to sudden, tic-like jabbings and swattings in the air, as if she were fending off flies or mosquitoes. 1973, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings:
2. (US, slang) The action of making an illegitimate call to the police so as to have a SWAT team dispatched to a location.
   • Mr. Herring’s relatives said they wanted tougher laws against swatting and more training for police agencies on how to recognize potential fake calls. 2021 July 24, Maria Cramer, “A Grandfather Died in ‘Swatting’ Over His Twitter Handle, Officials Say”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Swatting started in the combative world of online gaming. It was a way to terrorize someone more famous, get even with a rival or retaliate against someone with different political views. 2020 January 23, Sheera Frenkel, “People Are Calling SWAT Teams to Tech Executives’ Homes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Forms

swatting en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle English especial English special Proto-Germanic *wēpną Proto-West Germanic *wāpn Old English wēpn Middle English wepen English weapons Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Germanic *andi Old English and Middle English and English and Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-der. Proto-Hellenic *tat͏̌t͏̌ō Ancient Greek τάσσω (tássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τικός (-tikós) Ancient Greek τακτικός (taktikós)bor. New Latin tacticabor. English tactics English S.W.A.T. English SWAT Proto-Germanic *-ungō Old English -ung Middle English -ynge English -ing English swatting From SWAT + -ing.

Meanings

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present) present participle and gerund of swat
   form of swat