lurch
n. countablen. a sudden, uncontrolled movement to one side. You often use this to describe how a car or boat moves when it starts or stops suddenly.
n. a sudden, uncontrolled, or jerky movement to one side. Often describes the physical motion of a vehicle or the abrupt shift in a situation.
The car gave a sudden lurch as it started moving.
The boat took a sharp lurch to the left as a large wave crashed against the side.
The economy took a sudden lurch downward when the central bank announced an unexpected increase in interest rates, catching investors off guard.
Originally a nautical term, found in lee-larches (“the sudden and violent rolls of a ship to the leeward in high seas”), of unknown origin. Possibly the same as lurch (“to move stealthily, evade by stooping”) (see below), or from French lâcher (“to let go”).
From Middle English lurchen (recorded only in Middle English lurcare, lurcard (“glutton”)), from Old French lurcher, from Latin lurcō (“eat greedily, guzzle”), of uncertain origin. Compare Middle High German slurken (“to slurp”) (whence German schlurken).
From Middle English lorchen, variant of Middle English lurken (“to lurk”). More at lurk.
From Middle English lurche (implied in derivative lurching), from Old French lourche (“deceived, embarrassed; also the name of a game”), from Proto-West Germanic lort (“left; left-handed; crooked; bent; warped; underhanded; deceitful; limping”). Cognate to English lirt.