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Bob vs Sway - What's the difference?

bob | sway |

As verbs the difference between bob and sway

is that bob is to move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water while sway is to move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock.

As nouns the difference between bob and sway

is that bob is a bobbing motion while sway is the act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.

As a proper noun Bob

is a diminutive=Robert given name.

bob

English

Etymology 1

Verb

(bobb)
  • To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water.
    • The cork bobbed gently in the calm water.
    The ball, which we had thought lost, suddenly bobbed up out of the water.
  • To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
    • I bobbed my head under water and saw the goldfish.
    bob''' one's head'' (= to ' nod )
  • To curtsy.
  • To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap.
  • * Elyot
    • He was suddenly bobbed on the face by the servants.
    Derived terms
    * bobber * bob for apples * bob up

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A bobbing motion.
    • a bob of the head
  • A bobber.
  • * Lauson
    • Or yellow bobs turn'd up before the plough / Are chiefest baits, with cork and lead enough.
  • A curtsy.

    • Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A bob haircut.
  • Any round object attached loosely to a flexible line, a rod, a body part etc., so that it may swing when hanging from it
  • * 1773 ,
    • Ecod! I have got them. Here they are. My cousin Con's necklaces, bobs and all.
  • The dangling mass of a pendulum or plumb line.
  • The docked tail of a horse.
  • A short line ending a stanza of a poem.
  • The short runner of a sled.
  • A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc.
  • A working beam in a steam engine.
  • A particular style of ringing changes on bells.
  • A blow; a shake or jog; a rap, as with the fist.
  • (obsolete) A knot or short curl of hair; also, a bob wig.
  • * Shenstone
    • A plain brown bob he wore.
  • (obsolete) The refrain of a song.
  • * L'Estrange
    • To bed, to bed, will be the bob of the song.
  • (obsolete) A jeer; a sharp jest or taunt.
  • * Shakespeare
    • He that a fool doth very wisely hit, / Doth very foolishly, although he smart, / Not to seem senseless of the bob .

    Verb

    (bobb)
  • To cut (hair) into a bob haircut.
    • I got my hair bobbed . How do you like it?
  • To shorten by cutting; to dock; to crop
  • Short form of bobsleigh

    • Etymology 3

    Noun

    (bob)
  • A shilling.
  • * , Episode 12, The Cyclops
    • One of the bottlenosed fraternity it was went by the name of James Wought alias Saphiro alias Spark and Spiro, put an ad in the papers saying he'd give a passage to Canada for twenty bob .
  • :1933 , (George Orwell), (Down and Out in Paris and London) , xxix
  • ::‘’Ere]] s for the trousers, one and a tanner for the boots, and a [['og, ’og for the cap and scarf. That’s seven bob.’
  • * 1960 , , (Jeeves in the Offing) , chapter XVII
  • A 10-cent coin.
  • (slang) An unspecified amount of money.
  • * Spot me a few bob , Robert.
    • Derived terms
    * bob-a-job * bent as a nine-bob note * two-bob bit
    Usage notes
    * The use of bob for shilling is dated slang in the UK and Australia, since decimalisation. In East African countries where the currency is the shilling, it is current usage, and not considered slang. OED gives first usage as 1789. * The use of bob to describe a 10-cent coin is derived from the fact that it was of equal worth to a shilling during decimalisation, however since then, the term has slowly dropped out of usage and is seldom used today.

    Etymology 4

    Noun

    (en noun)

    • Etymology 5

    (blitter) (object)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (computer graphics) A graphical element, resembling a hardware sprite, that can be blitted around the screen in large numbers.
  • * 1986 , Eugene P Mortimore, Amiga programmer's handbook, Volumes 1-2
    • The bob list determines the drawing priority...
  • * 1995 , "John Girvin", Blitting bobs'' (on Internet newsgroup ''comp.sys.amiga.programmer )
    • IMHO, youd (SIC) be better doing other things with the CPU and letting the blitter draw bobs , esp on a machine with fast ram.
  • * 2002 , "demoeffects", Demotized 0.0.1 - A collection of demo effects from the early days of the demo scene.'' (on Internet newsgroup ''fm.announce )
    • Changes: This release adds 2 new effects (bobs and unlimited bobs), has a GFX directory for sharing graphics, adds utility functions to the common code...
    Derived terms
    * shadebob

    Anagrams

    * English palindromes ----

    sway

    English

    (wikipedia sway)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.
  • A rocking or swinging motion.
    • The old song caused a little sway in everyone in the room.
  • Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires.
    • I doubt I'll hold much sway with someone so powerful.
  • Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
  • Rule; dominion; control.
  • A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
  • The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
  • To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield.
  • :
  • *(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • *:As sparkles from the anvil rise, / When heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed .
  • To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade .
  • :
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:This was the race / To sway the world, and land and sea subdue.
  • To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp.
  • :
  • *(John Tillotson) (1630-1694)
  • *:Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest.
  • (lb) To hoist (a mast or yard) into position.
  • :
  • To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
  • *(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • *:The balance sways on our part.
  • To have weight or influence.
  • *(Richard Hooker) (1554-1600)
  • *:The example of sundry churchesdoth sway much.
  • To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:Hadst thou swayed as kings should do.

    • See also

    * persuade

    Anagrams

    * * English ergative verbs