swab

Etymology

Mid 17th century (in the sense 'mop for cleaning the decks'): back-formation from Middle English swabber (“sailor detailed to swab decks”), from Middle Dutch zwabber, from a Germanic base meaning 'splash' or 'sway', also found as nautical German Schwabber and Volga German Schwabber, a general term for cleaning tissues.

noun

1. (medicine) A small piece of soft, absorbent material, such as gauze, used to clean wounds, apply medicine, or take samples of body fluids. Often attached to a stick or wire to aid access.
2. A sample taken with a swab (piece of absorbent material).
3. A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns.
4. A mop, especially on a ship.
5. (slang) A sailor; a swabby.
6. (slang) A naval officer's epaulet.

verb

1. (transitive) To use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab.
   swab the deck of a ship
   He had one hand on the bounce bottle—and he'd never let go of that since he got back to the table—but he had a handkerchief in the other and was swabbing his deadlights with it. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 6, in Mr. Pratt's Patients