switch

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit
  2. noun an event in which one thing is substituted for another
  3. noun hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair; used by women to give shape to a coiffure

Etymology

Perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch (“twig”), first attested in c. 1592. The mechanical device for altering the direction of something sense is first attested in c. 1797, pertaining to pivoted rails on minecart railways, which were once wooden.

In classic literature

Synonyms

electric switch, electrical switch

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