5  definitions  found 
 
  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  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  swab 
  n  1:  small  piece  of  cotton  used  to  apply  medication,  cleanse  a 
  wound,  or  obtain  a  specimen  of  a  secretion 
  2:  absorbent  material  fastened  to  a  handle;  for  cleaning  floors 
  [syn:  {swob},  {mop}] 
  v  1:  wash  with  a  swab  or  a  mop;  "Mop  the  floors"  [syn:  {mop},  {swob}] 
  2:  apply  (usually  a  liquid)  to  a  surface  [syn:  {dab},  {swob}] 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  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  (13  Mar  01)  [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}] 
 
 

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