swap
[swop] 
,verb, swapped, swap⋅ping, noun | 1. | to exchange, barter, or trade, as one thing for another: He swapped his wrist watch for the radio. |
| 2. | to make an exchange. |
| 3. | an exchange: He got the radio in a swap. |
1300–50; ME swappen to strike, strike hands (in bargaining); c. dial. G schwappen to box (the ears)
Related forms:
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| swap (swŏp) v. swapped, swap·ping, swaps v. intr. To trade one thing for another. v. tr. To exchange (one thing) for another. n.
[Middle English swappen, to strike, strike the hands together in closing a bargain.] swap'per n. |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Swap
Swap\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swapped; p. pr. & vb. n. Swapping.] [OE. swappen to strike; cf. E. to strike a bargain; perh. akin to E. sweep. Cf. Swap a blow, Swap, v. i.] [Written also swop.]1. To strike; -- with off. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] "Swap off his head!" --Chaucer. 2. To exchange (usually two things of the same kind); to swop. [Colloq.] --Miss Edgeworth.Swap
Swap\, v. i. [Cf. Swap, v. t.]1. To fall or descend; to rush hastily or violently. --C. Richardson (Dict.). All suddenly she swapt adown to ground. --Chaucer. 2. To beat the air, or ply the wings, with a sweeping motion or noise; to flap.Swap
Swap\, n. [Cf. G. schwapp, n., a slap, swap, schwapp, schwapps, interj., slap! smack! and E. swap, v.t.]1. A blow; a stroke. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] 2. An exchange; a barter. [Colloq.] --Sir W. Scott.Swap
Swap\, adv. [See Swap, n.] Hastily. [Prov. Eng.]Cite This Source
swap
vt.1. [techspeak] To move information from a fast-access memory to a slow-access memory (`swap out'), or vice versa (`swap in'). Often refers specifically to the use of disks as `virtual memory'. As pieces of data or program are needed, they are swapped into core for processing; when they are no longer needed they may be swapped out again.
2. The jargon use of these terms analogizes people's short-term memories with core. Cramming for an exam might be spoken of as swapping in. If you temporarily forget someone's name, but then remember it, your excuse is that it was swapped out. To `keep something swapped in' means to keep it fresh in your memory: "I reread the TECO manual every few months to keep it swapped in." If someone interrupts you just as you got a good idea, you might say "Wait a moment while I swap this out", implying that a piece of paper is your extra-somatic memory and that if you don't swap the idea out by writing it down it will get overwritten and lost as you talk. Compare page in, page out.
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swap
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Swap
Traditionally, the exchange of one security for another to change the maturity (bonds), quality of issues (stocks or bonds), or because investment objectives have changed. Recently, swaps have grown to include currency swaps and interest rates swaps.
Investopedia Commentary
If firms in separate countries have comparative advantages on interest rates, then a swap could benefit both firms. For example, one firm may have a lower fixed interest rate, while another has access to a lower floating interest rate. These firms could swap to take advantage of the lower rates.
See also: Basis Rate Swap, Bond Swap, Commodity Swap, Credit Default Swap, Currency Swap, Interest Rate Swap, Non Deliverable Swap - NDS, Swap Spread, Total Return Swap, Variance Swap, Volatility Swap
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swap
- A contract in which two parties agree to exchange periodic interest payments. In the most common type of swap arrangement, one party agrees to pay fixed interest payments on designated dates to a counterparty who, in turn, agrees to make return interest payments that float with some reference rate such as the rate on Treasury bills or the prime rate. Also called interest rate swap. See also counterparty risk.
swap
- To trade one asset for another. Also called exchange, substitute, switch.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Main Entry: swap
Pronunciation: 'swäp
Function: noun
1 : an exchange of securities
2 : a derivative contract in which two parties (as corporations) agree to exchange rates esp. relating to debt
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swap operating system
To move a program from fast-access memory to a slow-access memory ("swap out"), or vice versa ("swap in"). The term often refers specifically to the use of a hard disk (or a swap file) as virtual memory or "swap space".
When a program is to be executed, possibly as determined by a scheduler, it is swapped into core for processing; when it can no longer continue executing for some reason, or the scheduler decides its time slice has expired, it is swapped out again.
This contrasts with "paging" systems in which only parts of a program's memory is transfered.
[The Jargon File]
(1996-11-22)
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| SWAP severe weather avoidance procedures |
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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