oath

Pluraloaths

1. 1
   solemn promisenouncountable

   A solemn pledge that calls on a god, a ruler, or some other power, present or not, to witness that a statement is true or a promise sincere.

   Witnesses must take an oath before they give evidence in court.

   With one hand on the Bible, he swore an oath that he had told the truth.

   Similarvow, pledge, promise

   Note

   The word has hardly changed in a thousand years: Old English had āþ, and the line runs back through Germanic to an Indo-European word for the same thing. Its usual verbs are take, swear, keep and break, and someone under oath, like a witness in court, is bound by one.

2. 2
   solemn promisenouncountable

   A statement or promise strengthened by a solemn pledge, such as the words sworn by an official taking office.

   The new mayor repeated the oath of office with her hand on a Bible.

   Soldiers recite an oath of allegiance pledging to defend the constitution.

   Similarpledge, vow

   Note

   Here the oath is the words themselves, which is why it can be recited, repeated or printed: the oath of office, an oath of allegiance, an oath of loyalty. The pattern is oath of plus what it binds the speaker to; the act of swearing it is the solemn pledge.

3. 3
   swear wordnouncountable

   A curse, or an offensive word used in cursing.

   The driver let loose a stream of oaths when the truck cut him off.

   With a muttered oath, he dropped the hot pan into the sink.

   Similarcurse, swearword, expletive, obscenity, profanity

   Note

   The word followed swearing itself from solemn pledges to bad language: an oath here is any curse, even one with no god in it, like the "four-letter oaths" that fly in Bernard Asbell's The Senate Nobody Knows. In narrative it is a tidy way to report swearing without printing it: a muttered oath, a stream of oaths.

4. 4
   careless appealnouncountable

   A light, irreverent, or insulting appeal to a god or some other power.

   "By heaven, you'll pay for that!" he roared, and the oath echoed down the hall.

   Grandfather's favorite oath was a cheerful "Great Caesar's ghost!"

   Similarexclamation, curse

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