Definition of: sway

(swā) v.i.
1. To swing from side to side or to and fro; oscillate.
2. To bend or incline to one side; lean; veer.
3. To tend in opinion, sympathy, etc.
4. To have influence or control; rule.
—v.t.
5. To cause to swing from side to side.
6. To cause to bend or incline to one side.
7. Naut. To swing into place; hoist, as a yard or mast.
8. To cause (a person, opinion, etc.) to tend in a given way; influence.
9. To cause to swerve; deflect or divert, as from a course of action.
10. Archaic a To wield, as a weapon or, especially, a scepter. b To rule over; govern. See synonyms under GOVERN, INFLUENCE, SHAKE.
—noun
1. Power exercised in governing; dominion; control.
2. The act of swaying, literal or figurative; a sweeping, swinging, or turning from side to side.
3. Momentum; inclination; bias.
4. Overpowering force or influence. [Prob. fusion of ON sveigja bend and LG swajen be moved to and fro by the wind]