Sway, n. 1. The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon.
With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. Milton.
2. Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires. A. Tucker.
3. Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
Expert
When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway
Of battle. Milton.
4. Rule; dominion; control. Cowper.
When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway,
The post of honor is a private station. Addison.
5. A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. Halliwell.
Syn. — Rule; dominion; power; empire; control; influence; direction; preponderance; ascendency.