swab : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: swab	by the DICT Development Group
5 results for swab
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
swab n implement consisting of a small piece of cotton that is used to apply medication or cleanse a wound or obtain a specimen of a secretion cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors Synonym(s): swab, swob, mop v wash with a swab or a mop; "swab the ship's decks" [syn: swab, swob] apply (usually a liquid) to a surface; "dab the wall with paint" Synonym(s): dab, swab, swob
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Swab \Swab\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Swabbed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Swabbing}.] [See {Swabber}, n.] To clean with a mop or swab; to wipe when very wet, as after washing; as, to swab the desk of a ship. [Spelt also {swob}.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Swab \Swab\, n. [Written also swob.] 1. A kind of mop for cleaning floors, the desks of vessels, etc., esp. one made of rope-yarns or threads. 2. A bit of sponge, cloth, or the like, fastened to a handle, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person, applying medicaments to deep-seated parts, etc. 3. (Naut.) An epaulet. [Sailor's Slang] --Marryat. 4. A cod, or pod, as of beans or pease. [Obs.] --Bailey. 5. A sponge, or other suitable substance, attached to a long rod or handle, for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]:
swab /swob/ [From the mnemonic for the PDP-11 `SWAp Byte' instruction, as immortalized in the `dd(1)' option `conv=swab' (see {dd})] 1. vt. To solve the {NUXI problem} by swapping bytes in a file. 2. n. The program in V7 Unix used to perform this action, or anything functionally equivalent to it. See also {big-endian}, {little-endian}, {middle-endian}, {bytesexual}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
swab /swob/ The {PDP-11} swap byte instruction mnemonic, as immortalised in the {dd} option "conv=swab". 1. To solve the {NUXI problem} by swapping bytes in a file. 2. The program in V7 Unix used to perform this action, or anything functionally equivalent to it. See also {big-endian}, {little-endian}, {middle-endian}, {bytesexual}. [{Jargon File}]