also: ずわえ · すわい · ずわい
In the old days, people would break off a switch and use it as a whip.
The criminal was beaten with a switch.
Archaic kanji spelling for a switch or slender branch; rarely used in modern Japanese.
Voiced variant of すわい; restricted to 楚; archaic.
Variant kanji form; extremely rare.
Variant kanji form; extremely rare.
Voiced variant reading; also archaic.
Alternate reading restricted to the 楚 kanji; archaic.
The historical derivation is uncertain; the kanji 楚 is conventionally associated with a slender branch or switch in classical contexts.