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Webster 1913 Edition

Oath

Oath

(ōth)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Oaths
(ōthz)
.
[OE.
othe
,
oth
,
ath
, AS.
āð
; akin to D.
eed
, OS.
ēð
, G.
eid
, Icel.
eiðr
, Sw.
ed
, Dan.
eed
, Goth.
aiþs
; cf. OIr.
oeth
.]
1.
A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with a reverent appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed.
“I have an oath in heaven”
Shak.
An
oath
of secrecy for the concealing of those [inventions] which we think fit to keep secret.
Bacon.
2.
A solemn affirmation, connected with a sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the temple, the altar, the blood of Abel, the Bible, the Koran, etc.
3.
(Law)
An appeal (in verification of a statement made) to a superior sanction, in such a form as exposes the party making the appeal to an indictment for perjury if the statement be false.
4.
A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of profane swearing.
“A terrible oath”
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Oath

OATH

,
Noun.
A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. The appeal to God in an oath, implies that the person imprecates his vengeance and renounces his favor if the declaration is false, or if the declaration is a promise, the person invokes the vengeance of God if he should fail to fulfill it. A false oath is called perjury.

Definition 2024

oath

oath

English

Noun

oath ‎(plural oaths)

  1. A solemn pledge or promise to a god, king, or another person, to attest to the truth of a statement or contract
    • 2011, Mark Leyne, "The Tetherballs of Bougainville: A Novel
      There are […] brought all the way from Bougainville to present their birth certificates and testify in this courtroom, under oath, as to their given names.
  2. The affirmed statement or promise accepted as equivalent to an oath.
  3. A light or insulting use of a solemn pledge or promise to a god, king or another person, to attest to the truth of a statement or contract the name of a deity in a profanity, as in swearing oaths.
    • 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
      Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.
  4. A curse.
  5. (law) An affirmation of the truth of a statement.

Synonyms

  1. pledge, vow, avowal

Derived terms

Related terms

  • bloody oath (Australian slang)
  • **** oath (Australian slang)

Translations

Verb

oath ‎(third-person singular simple present oaths, present participle oathing, simple past and past participle oathed)

  1. (archaic) to pledge

Translations

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Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English ooth, oth, ath, from Old English āþ ‎(“oath”), from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz ‎(“oath”), from Proto-Indo-European *oyt- ‎(“oath”). Cognate with Scots aith, athe ‎(“oath”), North Frisian ith, iss ‎(“oath”), West Frisian eed ‎(“oath”), Dutch eed ‎(“oath”), German Eid ‎(“oath”), Swedish ed ‎(“oath”), Icelandic eið ‎(“oath”), Latin ūtor ‎(“use, employ, avail”), Old Irish óeth ‎(“oath”).

Pronunciation

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