swear

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /sweə/, US /swer/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sweren, inherited from Old English swerian (“to take an oath, make a solemn declaration”),^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną,^[3][4] also the source of Old Frisian swera, Old Saxon swerian, Dutch zweren, German schwören, Old Norse sverja and Gothic swaran.^[2][3] Its origin is uncertain.^[2] The old explanation (Pokorny, Watkins) derives it from PIE *swer- “to speak”, seen in Oscan sverrunei “to the speaker” and Old Church Slavonic svarŭ “quarrel”,^[2][3][5] while Boutkan suspects a substratum word.^[2] It is related to answer, originally “to swear against”, that is, to rebut a charge.^[2][6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To take an oath: about 725 in Barnhart, in Beowulf;^[3] the OED has the verb with an infinitive from about 825 and in absolute use from before 900.^[7] Middle English sweren is recorded in 1123, in the Peterborough Chronicle.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To bind a person by an oath is also Old English.^[4] Invoking sacred names profanely or blasphemously is from the mid-14th century,^[2] and the use of swear for bad language came at the end of the 14th century, an extension of using a sacred name in an oath;^[6] Etymonline dates “to use profane language” to the early 15th century.^[2] Swear like a trooper is from the mid 18th century, when cavalry troopers had a reputation for coarse language.^[6] The noun, a solemn oath, is from before 1643, and a profane oath or bout of swearing from 1871.^[7] Swear word is 19th century, originally American.^[4] A Middle English noun sware meant “an answer”.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 725 – to take an oath.^[3]
• 1123 – sweren.^[3]
• mid-14th century – to invoke sacred names profanely.^[2]
• late 14th century – to use bad language.^[6]
• a. 1643 – noun, an oath.^[7]
• mid 18th century – swear like a trooper.^[6]
• 1871 – noun, a swear word.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To use rude or offensive words, especially in anger; to curse.
2. To make a solemn promise or declaration, often by calling on God.
3. To state firmly that something is true.
4. To make someone take an oath: sworn to secrecy, swear in a witness.
5. swear by: to have great confidence in.

Word family

• swearer
• swearingly
• outswear
• unswear
• forswear
• reswear
• swear out

Related words

• answer
• oath
• sworn

Usage notes

Etymonline quotes Ruskin's distinction between swearing, calling on a spirit to witness an assertion, and cursing, calling on a spirit to help in harming someone.^[2] In northern dialect a different word swear or sweer means lazy or reluctant.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)