Swoop
/swuːp/noun
To move rapidly downward through the air, or to seize or attack suddenly.
Did you know?English swoop is generally traced to a Germanic sound-imitation of rapid movement, and its earliest uses already carried the sense of a bird or attacker dropping suddenly from above.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*swōpaną
“to sweep, rush, or move swiftly”
Old English
OE
swāpan
“to sweep, dash, or rush”
Middle English
ME
swopen
“to sweep or move quickly”
14th-16th Century
English
swoopen / swoop
“to move suddenly downward, especially like a bird of prey”
Modern English
English
swoop
“to descend rapidly or seize suddenly”