oath English · revision 10719

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ang āþ}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /əʊθ/, US /oʊθ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|āþ|t=judicial swearing, solemn appeal]] (about 725, in Beowulf),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|gem-pro|*aiþaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Old Saxon ēth, Dutch eed, German Eid, Old Norse eiðr and Gothic aiþs.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Outside Germanic it is probably related to Old Irish ōeth, oath,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and Merriam-Webster takes the Germanic word to be of Celtic origin;^(MWU 2024) Etymonline thinks the history obscure and possibly non-Indo-European.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A solemn appeal to God or a sacred thing as witness of truth or a promise: about 1000 in the OED, about 725 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A careless use of a sacred name in ordinary speech, a profane oath or curse, is from late Old English, about 1175 in the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and probably about 1350 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) An oath in a looser sense, an emphatic statement, is from 1600.^(OED 1989) In Australian and New Zealand English, ''my oath!'' is an exclamation meaning yes, of course (1859).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – āþ.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1175 – a profane oath.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1600 – an emphatic statement.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1859 – my oath! (Australia).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A solemn [[promise]] or declaration, often calling on [[God]] or a sacred object as witness.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''under oath'': having sworn to tell the truth, as in court.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A swear word; a [[curse]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Hippocratic oath]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[affirmation]]

+ * [[swear]]

+ * [[oath-taking]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}