/əʊðz/, /əʊθs/, U.S. /oʊðz/, /oʊθs/.oathn.
/əʊθ/, U.S. /oʊθ//əʊðz/, /əʊθs/, U.S. /oʊðz/, /oʊθs/.α. Old English haþ (Mercian), Old English hað (Mercian), Old English–early Middle English að, Old English–Middle English aþ, early Middle English adh, early Middle English æð, early Middle English aȝe (transmission error), early Middle English aið, early Middle English aðe, early Middle English aððes (plural), early Middle English oað, Middle English aath, Middle English ad, Middle English ade, Middle English adthe, Middle English agh, Middle English aght, Middle English aþe, Middle English ath, Middle English athe, Middle English ayth, Middle English nath; Scottish pre-1700 aath, pre-1700 acht, pre-1700 aeth, pre-1700 aetht, pre-1700 aht (perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 aicht, pre-1700 aithe, pre-1700 aitht, pre-1700 ath, pre-1700 athe, pre-1700 atht, pre-1700 aycht, pre-1700 ayth, pre-1700 aythe, pre-1700 aytht, pre-1700 eath, pre-1700 eith, pre-1700 eithe, pre-1700 eitht, pre-1700 ethis (plural), pre-1700 haith, pre-1700 1700s– aith.
β. early Middle English hoit, early Middle English oh (transmission error), Middle English hooth, Middle English hoþ, Middle English hoth, Middle English hothe, Middle English noþ, Middle English noth, Middle English nothe, Middle English ode, Middle English oeth, Middle English oethe (in a late copy), Middle English ogth, Middle English oht, Middle English ooþ, Middle English oothe, Middle English oþ, Middle English oþe, Middle English other (plural, transmission error), Middle English othþ, Middle English oþnes (plural, transmission error), Middle English otthe, Middle English ougth, Middle English owth, Middle English owthe, Middle English uth (perhaps transmission error), Middle English woothe, Middle English 1600s wothe, Middle English–1500s ooth, Middle English–1600s oth, Middle English–1600s othe, 1500s oith, 1500s oithe, 1500s oythe, 1500s–1700s oathe, 1500s– oath, 1700s– oaf (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 oathe, pre-1700 oethe, pre-1700 oith, pre-1700 oithe, pre-1700 ooth, pre-1700 othe, pre-1700 otht, pre-1700 oythe, pre-1700 1700s– oath, pre-1700 (1900s Shetland) oth; N.E.D. (1902) also records a form Middle English oð.
1. † b. A firm asseveration in the form of an oath but not invoking God or anything sacred. Obsolete. rare.
a. A solemn or formal declaration invoking God (or a god, or other object of reverence) as witness to the truth of a statement, or to the binding nature of a promise or undertaking; an act of making such a declaration. Also: the statement or promise made in such a declaration, or the words of such a statement.The making of the declaration was expressed in early use mainly by swear, and later also by make or take, as to swear an oath, to make (an) oath, etc.Bible, coronation, gospel, Hippocratic oath, etc.: see the first element. oath of abjuration, supremacy, etc.: see the final element.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [noun] > solemn
oathOE
swarec1200
sermenta1325
jurament1575
asseveration1602
sanction1611
contestation1614
vowa1616
dejeration1626
sweara1643
dejury1683
fetish1705
vum1881
oath-pledge1884
α.
β. a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 33 (MED) False hoit þat þu ne suere, false vitnesse þat þu ne bere.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6107 Nou adde heyemen of þe lond..deop oþ ysuore Wiþ him to holde treweliche.a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 2692 (MED) He swor his oþ þat he a-sent nold.a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 327 (MED) Þey hated oþes as it were forswerynge.c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 344 Bi ooth and so bi avisement.1482 Monk of Evesham 96 He..bade hem with grete instaunce and wothys that the nexte nyghte..the lampys afore seyd schuld be lyghtynde.1511 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 3 John Husscher wyll take a othe a pon a boke.c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xcv. 310 Themperour hath so made his oth and promyse & hath sworne by his crowne imperyall.1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. aiii Prelates, to whom they haue bounde them selfe, by othe, promyse or vowe.1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme iv. 9 But for my part, Ile make an oath before maister Qomodo here.1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xiv. 71 Which Swearing, or Oath, is a Form of Speech, added to a Promise; by which he that promiseth, signifieth, that unlesse he performe, he renounceth the mercy of his God, or calleth to him for vengeance on himselfe.1716 C. Bullock Adventures of Half Hour 38 I'll make an Oath never to watch my Wife more, let her do what she will.1764 R. Burn Hist. Poor Laws 253 The administring of an oath to witnesses by justices of the peace.1777 G. Clinton in J. Sparks Corr. Amer. Revol. (1853) I. 415 To attend at Kingston, and take the oath of office in consequence of my late appointment.1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iv. 27 I could take my oath he said Son.1861 G. Meredith Evan Harrington III. xiv. 219 Rose..made oath to her soul she would rescue him.1889 R. L. Stevenson Master of Ballantrae vi. 176 If I had been put to my oath, I must have declared he was incapable of testing.1930 W. H. Waldron Old Sergeant's Conferences vii. 122 To ‘Re-up’ is to reenlist on the day following discharge... The ‘Up’ refers to holding up his hand to receive the oath of enlistment.1973 Black Panther 12 May 6/1 After signing a loyalty oath to the school, students are required to present two identification cards.2001 New Republic 17 Sept. 48/3 The ghost insists that the companions should..swear an oath of silence about the night's events.OE Beowulf 472 He me aþas swor.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 7 Þa behet he mid aþe hyre to syllenne swa hwæt swa heo hyne bæde.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1101 Þis þa mid aðe gefestnodan.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 9 (MED) Þeih me niede me to ðan aðe, me ne het me noht te forsweriȝen, ac soð te seggen of ðan ðe ic am bicleped.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 27666 And gain sum þai suare þair ath [a1425 Galba mak ane athe] For to do him melle and lath.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1618 Be his right hand he [sc. God] suar his ath.
a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 3904 I most nedes have of ȝow an ath.
c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 16 (MED) I hafe..made athe to Darius, þat, whils he leffez, I schall neuer bere armes agaynes hym.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ix. 540 Sum off ye men off ye countre Com till his pes and maid him aith.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. xi. f. 31 The first conditioun requirit to ane lauchful eith is verite or truth.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 13 To make ane aith before ane Judge.
1611 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 306 They suld giwe thair conscience and aithe that thair armour was thair awin.
1651 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1872) II. 119 That they present the foirsaids armes..and give thair aithes..that they ar not borrowit.
1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xxv, in Poems (new ed.) 63 I'm free to tak my aith.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [noun] > solemn > not involving reference to anything sacred
oatha1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iv. i. 179 By all pretty oathes that are not dangerous, if you breake one iot of your promise,..I will thinke you the most patheticall breake-promise. View more context for this quotation
1808 W. Scott Marmion v. xi. 257 She..laughed, and blushed, and oft did say Her pretty oath, by Yea and Nay, She could not, would not, durst not play!
2. A casual or careless appeal invoking God (or something sacred) in asseveration or imprecation, without intent of reverence, made in corroboration of a statement, declaration, etc.; a profane or blasphemous utterance; a curse. Now (also): any strong expletive expressing anger, frustration, etc., often with substitution for, or omission of, a sacred name.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [noun]
oatha1225
hunting oath1570
forbode1575
exorcism1601
expletive1647
rapper1675
oathlet1835
expletion1836
emphatic1868
swear1871
rounder1885
the mind > goodness and badness > state of being accursed > curse > [noun] > as everyday imprecation
oatha1225
malisonc1300
reproach1485
thunderbolt1559
revilement1577
thunder-crack1577
revile1579
ban1590
wish1597
thunder-clap1610
expletive1647
rapper1675
cuss1771
winze1786
Goddammit1800
goddam1828
dirty word1842
blank1854
emphatic1868
swear1871
sailor's blessing1876
blessing1878
goldarn1879
swear-word1883
rounder1885
curse-word1897
dang1906
sailor's farewell1937
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 11 (MED) Ne haue þu þines drihtenes nome in nane aða ne in nane idel speche.
c1225 (?OE) Soul's Addr. to Body (Worcester) (Fragm. G) l. 36 Ic was þe biwedded..et þen fontstone þet þu hauest ifuled; mid þine fule oþes þu hafest þin ful[luht] forloren.
a1300 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 200 (MED) Idel adh [v.r. wothes] ne swere þu Nan.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. 178 Þer weoren oþes an hep, hose þat hit herde.
c1400 Simonie (Peterhouse) (1991) l. 324 Now is non mysprowd squier..Bot he..swere by Goddes sowle..For suche oþes God is wroþ.
c1440 (a1349) R. Rolle Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 10 Here is forboden athe with-owtten cheson.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 629 (MED) Þe former of euery creature Dismembred y with oþes grete & rente Lyme for lyme.
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 4547 (MED) Chaastnesse a man shal holde And of his body be not bolde To vse oþes ne leccherie, Ne none oþer manere of vilenye.
1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Ciiv The wycked othes and the tyme myspent.
1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London ii. sig. C4 Oathes are Crutches, vpon which Lyes..go, & neede no other pasport... oathes are wounds that a man stabs into himselfe.
1647 A. Eyre Diary 8 June in R. Houlbrooke Eng. Family Life (1988) 66 My wife began, after her old manner, to brawl and revile me..and accused me for treading on her sore foot, with curses and oaths.
1691 R. Ames Pleasures of Love & Marriage 12 Your Oaths and Curses then like Canon roar, You storm like Devils, and cry a Whore a Whore.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. xi. 64 One of the Ruffians answered with an Oath, Yes, we'll give you something presently. View more context for this quotation
1773 R. Fergusson Poems 87 Before I married her, I'll take my aith, her tongue was never louder than her breath.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 511 Every street of the city rings with the horrible oaths of their drivers.
1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Ernest Maltravers I. i. i. 22 He closed the window with an oath.
1898 D. C. Murray Tales 209 Oaths are the flash-notes of speech.
1908 J. London Martin Eden xiii. 106 They lost their tempers easily, and called one another names, while oaths and obscene allusions were frequent on their lips.
1990 J. Nance Final Approach v. 68 His anguished shriek was even louder than his previous noisy protests and oaths of frustration.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [noun] > specific > person or thing by which one swears
oatha1849
a1849 T. L. Beddoes Torrismond i. iii, in Poems (1851) I. 75 If thou art..The admiration, oath, and patron-saint Of frivolous revellers.
Phrases
P1. † b. to take the (also an) oath of (a person): to be witness to the oath of (a person); to cause to swear. Obsolete.
a. on (one's) oath: under the obligation of an oath; in the position of having sworn a binding oath. Similarly upon (one's) oath, under oath.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [adverb]
under oatha1325
on (also upon) one's faithc1405
faithfullyc1450
on (also upon) one's word1582
sacramentally1599
votally1614
promissorily1650
engagingly1651
obligingly1655
votively1857
a1325 St. Juliana (Corpus Cambr.) 25 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 63 Ihote ich am alle Cristene men, to deþe do uppon myn oþe.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 14 Speake truly on thy knighthoode, and thine oth. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 187 Aske him vpon his oath, if hee do's thinke [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1687 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 237 John..deponed upon aith that he saw them both at the ground.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 362. ⁋1 All who vend Wines should be under oaths in that behalf.
1752 H. Fielding Amelia II. vi. iv. 209 I would believe the honest Serjeant on his bare Word, sooner than I would fifty Mrs. Ellisons on Oath.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. ii. 374 He declined examination upon oath.
1851 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life (1874) viii. 83 He was then under oath not to drink for six months.
1925 L. O'Flaherty Informer v. 50 D'ye want to let the dogs o' the street know the secrets o' the Organization that ye swore on yer oath to kape?
1962 Punch 18 July 74/3 A motorist has been acquitted of a speeding charge because the radar trap that provided the evidence against him could not be put on oath.
2001 New Yorker 22 Jan. 58/3 Milken had testified, under oath, that he didn't remember even seeing the term sheets.
ΚΠ
1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 156/1 Hit is also ordeined, that non of hem [sc. customs officials] shall receive..of any of the seide Marchauntz for the takyng of his seid ougth, ne for the enteryng therof.
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 204 Of Richard Story he [sc. the king] took a hooth.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 140 Whan the two kynges hadde take the oth of these two.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece Argt. sig. A2v Shee first taking an oath of them for her reuenge, reuealed the Actor. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 366 My Lord of Burgundy wee'le take your Oath..for suretie of our Leagues. View more context for this quotation
a1660 Faithful Friends (1970–75) iii. iii. 71 Lett Tullius our Generall, enter yr Citty with a competent number of well arm'd men, and take the oathes of you and yr cheife Senators.
c. to tender an oath: see tender v.1 2b.
P2.
oath of allegiance n. a solemn promise of loyalty, support, and obedience, originally made to a temporal or spiritual leader (esp. the reigning monarch or pope), but now also to a government, state, or some other body of authority, or a symbol representing it.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [noun] > vow or oath > of particular type
abjuration?a1439
professing1560
vow of silence1567
oath of allegiance1574
vow1600
affidation1612
abjuration1621
fetish1705
affidature1727
pledge of allegiance1750
abjuration of the realm1768
oath-parole1900
Guide's honour1912
1574 J. Studley tr. J. Bale Pageant of Popes f. 135 The Emperour vowed to the Pope not an oath of alleageance and fealtye, but of defendinge the Christian fayth.
1612 W. Strachey Lawes 39 All Gouernors of Town or Towns, Fort or Forts, shall be ready..to take their Oaths of Allegiance vnto his Maiestie.
a1698 W. Row Suppl. in R. Blair Life (1848) (modernized text) xii. 372 A general and ambiguous clause was foisted into the Oath of Allegiance.
1777 P. Van Cortlandt Let. 16 Apr. in J. Judd Corr. Van Cortlandt Family (1977) 188 They are..very doubtful about the propriety of administring a general Oath of Allegiance..when the want of a regular Government gives People a plausable pretence to refuse it.
1829 W. Irving Chron. Conq. Granada II. vi. 41 The inhabitants of nearly forty towns..sent deputations to the Castilian sovereigns, taking the oath of allegiance.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 570 The oath of allegiance, the Whigs said, was drawn in terms far too lax.
1898 Argosy Aug. 82 A De Courtney does not lightly take on him the oath of allegiance, and those who assail the honor of his king assail his own.
1951 K. A. Porter Let. 4 Mar. (1990) vii. 394 This requirement of an oath of allegiance was more of a device for..humiliating honest persons than an effective trap for traitors.
2002 R. Williams Sing yer Heart out for Lads ii. 90 Mark. I served in Northern Ireland. I swored an oath of allegiance to the flag. Alan. Oh please.
P3. Australian and New Zealand slang. Used in interjections expressing agreement or endorsement, or as a mild expletive. Chiefly in my oath; also more emphatically my colonial oath, my bloody oath.
ΚΠ
1848 R. Marsh Seven Years of my Life 70 Come along you bloody crawlers, you'll have to walk faster than this tomorrow..—my bloody oath you will.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. Geoffry Hamlyn II. vi. 94 ‘You're not fit company for any man except the hangman,’ said Tom,..‘Oh my —— (colonial oath!)’ said the other; ‘oh my —— cabbage tree!’
1869 Lictor (Sydney) 16 Dec. 347 My oath! I'm as right as a first-rate quondong.
1895 J. Kirby Old Times in Bush x. 143 The snake..made a hoop of hisself, and then, my oath, he did go.
1896 H. Lawson While Billy Boils 203 ‘My oath!’ he replied... ‘My blooming oath!’
1913 J. Beukers Humour & Pathos Austral. Desert 58 Whew, my colonial oath, but it's as hot as blazes to-day, chaps.
1925 H. H. Cook Far Flung 12 ‘Perhaps ye'll square up?’.. ‘My oath!’ cried the debtor.
1957 R. S. Porteous Brigalow 96 A beer? My oath! I'll be in that.
1971 D. Williamson Don's Party (1973) ‘Did he say that?’.. ‘Bloody oath he said it.’
Compounds
C1. General attributive.† oath office n. Obsolete† oath-pledge n. Obsolete† oath-rite n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Mddx. 189 What Oath office is kept in London; I know not.
oath-parole n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [noun] > vow or oath > of particular type
abjuration?a1439
professing1560
vow of silence1567
oath of allegiance1574
vow1600
affidation1612
abjuration1621
fetish1705
affidature1727
pledge of allegiance1750
abjuration of the realm1768
oath-parole1900
Guide's honour1912
1900 Daily Tel. 11 Aug. 7/2 These spies and breakers of oath-paroles.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [noun] > solemn
oathOE
swarec1200
sermenta1325
jurament1575
asseveration1602
sanction1611
contestation1614
vowa1616
dejeration1626
sweara1643
dejury1683
fetish1705
vum1881
oath-pledge1884
1884 Congregationalist June 465 The sacramental solemnity, the oath-pledge against evil.
ΚΠ
?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses x. 156 All the oath-rites said, I then ascended her adorned bed.
C2. Objective.
a. † oath-sanctioner n. Obsolete
oath-breaker n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unfaithfulness > unfaithful person > [noun] > breaking promise
break-vow1582
oath-breaker1601
break-promisea1616
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > unfaithfulness > [noun] > breach of pledge or agreement > one who
warlockOE
prevaricatora1500
league breaker1561
break-vow1582
oath-breaker1601
break-promisea1616
1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 166 Blasphemers, and oath-breakers.
1893 A. Lang Homer & Epic vi. 101 Pandarus the oath-breaker is slain..though, as Mr Leaf remarks, his crime is not mentioned in that place.
a1973 J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion (1977) ix. 83 For so sworn, good or evil, an oath may not be broken, and it shall pursue oathkeeper and oathbreaker to the world's end.
oath-breaking n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unfaithfulness > [noun] > act > breaking oath
oath-breaking1442
fedifraction1650
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > unfaithfulness > [noun] > breach of pledge or agreement
oath-breaking1442
fedifraction1650
1442 in J. B. Paul Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1882) II. 64/1 Till underly the charge of ath breking and perpetuale reprufe.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. ii. 37 I tolde him gently..Of his oath breaking . View more context for this quotation
1893 Catholic World Sept. 765 A priest..is the appointed champion of religion and morality in his parish... In him gambling,..bribe-taking and oath-breaking, should find their bitterest antagonist.
1988 Ethics 99 170 Perhaps, then, we can judge only the occasion and the policy, and not the act of oath-breaking or failure to carry out the law?
oath-keeper n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [noun] > one who promises or vows
swearerc1380
beheterc1384
behighterc1475
promiserc1475
vower1546
votary1548
avower?1555
bearer1579
obligee1590
jurora1593
vow-fellow1598
vow-maker1598
stipulator1611
votist1613
plightera1616
voter1621
obligatora1625
obliger1633
promissor1644
promisor1665
sponsor1677
pledger1768
sanctioner1846
pledgee1924
oath-keepera1973
a1973 J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion (1977) ix. 83 For so sworn, good or evil, an oath may not be broken, and it shall pursue oathkeeper and oathbreaker to the world's end.
oath-making n.
ΚΠ
1556 N. Grimald tr. Cicero Thre Bks. Duties iii. f. 150v In an othemaking, not what the feare, but what the vertue of it is, ought to bee considered.
1986 Shakespeare Q. 37 447 Shakespeare employs this strategy widely, using images of oathmaking and of inter-camp messengering..to link..the activities of the love and war plots.
ΚΠ
1846 G. Grote Hist. Greece I. i. i. 11 Zeus..conferred upon Styx the majestic distinction of being the Horkos, or oath-sanctioner of the Gods.
oath-swearing n.
ΚΠ
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 1070 Landfranc crafede fæstnunge his gehersumnesse mid aðswerunge.
1867 Harper's Mag. Jan. 192 If you would see the oath-swearing system in all its fullness of perfection, take thyself unto Bow Street.
1959 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 24 12/1 The refusal of sects..to accept conventionalized sacred practices such as oath-swearing.
oath-taker n.
ΚΠ
1597 E. S. Discouerie Knights of Poste 6 How doe all our ancient acquaintance, ye good oath-takers, or common baylers.
1818 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 33 49 The Magistrates, who co-operated with this hirer of oath-takers.
1969 Daily Tel. 2 Oct. 16/5 Oath-takers dance around a hut naked, chant an oath before entering it and once inside eat soil.
oath-taking n.
ΚΠ
?a1600 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 299 That no man..be recevid unto the franches..of the said citie, save only for the same crafte that he usith at his othe takyng.
1869 A. Trollope Phineas Finn i. iii. 24 Would Laurence Fitzgibbon see him through the difficulties of the oath-taking?
1961 Guardian 29 Mar. 2/1 Recent reports of Mau-Mau oath-taking in Kenya.
b. † oath-despising adj. Obsolete† oath-detesting adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1826 H. Smith Tor Hill (1838) III. 8 The depositions of his oath-despising retainers.
ΚΠ
1786 R. Burns Poems 33 Dempster, a true-blue Scot I'se warran; Thee; aith-detesting, chaste Kilkerran.
C3. Instrumental.
oath-bound adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [adjective] > bound by promise
troth-plighta1300
sworna1325
plightedc1390
assured1426
jurate1433
abjured1552
sure1567
trothed1567
obliged1600
testeda1616
ingudged1650
betrothed1651
sacramental1785
undertaking1786
oath-bound1795
committed1821
word-bound1836
tied1876
1795 J. Hurdis Poem upon Prospect Marriage Prince of Wales 15 Foes oath-bound her consumptive ire to shake.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 Oct. 6/3 An open organization and not oath-bound, except in the case of the council.
1939 W. B. Yeats Last Poems 8 That all are oath-bound men.
C4. † oath-sick adj. Obsolete fastidious about or opposed to taking oaths.
oath-helper n. [compare German Eideshelfer (1817 or earlier)] historical = compurgator n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > judging > clearing oneself > [noun] > compurgation > compurgator
underswearer1724
cojuror1735
compurgator1747
oath-helper1876
1876 Ess. Anglo-Saxon Law 186 The number of compurgators varied..and were often chosen by the party himself from his kinsmen, who were his usual oath-helpers.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 331/1 One of the two litigants must prove his case, by his body in battle,..or by an oath with oath-helpers.
1970 P. G. Foote & D. M. Wilson Viking Achievement xi. 375 After the man accused had made his statement on oath, then each of his oath-helpers swore that they believed his oath to be honest.
oath-helping n. historical the action of swearing an oath in support of an accused person.
ΚΠ
1903 Amer. Hist. Rev. 8 440 Mr. Seebohm's distinction between the group of land-occupying kinsmen, extending to the fourth degree, and the group naturally responsible for wergeld and oath-helping, extending to the ninth, has been very helpful.
1973 A. Harding Law Courts Med. Eng. 25 The Normans let the parties fight an actual physical battle, but the Anglo-Saxons preferred trial by ordeal or by oath-helping.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [adjective] > relating to an oath > having objection to taking an oath
oath-sick1715
1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 219 A scrupulous Oath-sick Conscience.
Derivatives
ˈoath-worthy adj. now archaic (a) able to be trusted under oath; (b) worthy of being sworn by, or invoked in an oath.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > vow > [adjective] > worthy of a vow
oathablea1616
oath-worthy1859
eOE Laws of Ine (Corpus Cambr. 173) xlvi. 108 Þonne sceal he be lx hida onsacan þære þiefðe, gif he aðwyrðe bið.]
1859 N. Amer. Rev. July 85 Perjured persons, or those who had once been convicted, should not be deemed thereafter oath-worthy.
1886 J. S. Corbett Fall of Asgard II. 170 By all that we of old have deemed holy and oathworthy.
1962 H. R. Loyn Anglo-Saxon Eng. (1963) ix. 351 It still mattered that a man was oath-worthy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
oathv.
/əʊð/, /əʊθ/, U.S. /oʊð/, /oʊθ/ 1. transitive. To impose an oath on, to put under oath. Frequently in passive. rare before late 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [verb (transitive)] > swear an oath or take an oath > impose an oath on
oatha1425
bookswear1558
a1425 (?a1350) Gospel of Nicodemus (Galba) (1907) 1141 Bi gret god we ȝow ath [v.rr. athe, swere sall 3e nowe].
a1425 (?a1350) Gospel of Nicodemus (Galba) (1907) 1699 We war athed ful nere.
a1770 T. Chatterton Compl. Wks. (1971) I. 221 Whanne you, as caytysned, yn fielde dyd bee, Hee oathed you to be stylle, and strayte dydd sette you free.
1877 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 10) xxxvi. 566 Knows the elements oathed against him; knows Nought with him, God except, and hope.
1954 Man 54 100 A person admitting to membership of the society usually describes himself as having been oathed using the words -nyua muuma mentioned above.
1963 F. Majdalany State of Emergency ix. 85 Mau Mau's unfortunate victims were forced to part with sixty shillings for the privilege of being forcibly oathed.
1993 A. Goodman Tell them I'm on my Way i. 10 We were oathed on our honour not to eat anything.
2. † a. transitive. To declare or promise (something) on oath, to swear solemnly. Chiefly with that, or with clause as object. Also occasionally intransitive. Obsolete. † b. transitive. With it: to utter an oath or oaths. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > [verb (intransitive)] > swear or use profanity
curse?c1225
oathc1450
swearc1450
to swear like a lord1531
profanea1643
sink1663
rip1772
cuss1838
to let out1840
explete1902
eff1943
foul-mouth1960
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [verb (intransitive)] > swear or take an oath
sweara900
sacrec1380
oathc1450
bread and salt1575
to take one's davy1764
buff1819
c1450 (?a1400) Parl. Thre Ages (BL Add. 31042) 499 (MED) Than Arthure Sir Wawayne athes by his trouthe That he swiftely his swerde scholde swynge in the mere.
a1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 6 (MED) Adjurare, to othe.
1851 R. F. Burton Goa 309 Complainant swears that he was not paid; witness oathes by the sun that he was.
ΚΠ
a1617 P. Baynes Lectures 167 in Comm. First & Second Chapters Colossians (1634) They carry their sinne in their fore-head, braving men, oathing it.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xix. 62 'Tis easie to know a beginning swearer... Hee oathes it, as a cowardly Fencer playes; who, as soone as he hath offered a blow, shrinkes backe.
c. intransitive. To utter an oath or oaths.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (intransitive)]
objure1830
oath1900
1900 Longman's Mag. Nov. 72 Some of the soldiers..laughed and oathed in evident glee.
1991 Independent 5 Jan. 12/4 When his football goes wrong, he reacts with intense, unschooled emotion—crying or oathing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [verb (transitive)] > swear an oath or take an oath > swear by
to swear by ——c1220
oath1740
1740 T. Connor in Gentleman's Mag. 461/2 I do oath the holy seven [i.e. sacraments], His soul's with Patrick now in heaven.
4. transitive. To address or call with oaths.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (transitive)]
swearOE
to swear by ——c1220
cuss1779
oath1834
1834 Tait's Edinb. Mag. New Ser. 1 41 Some lusty carter is heard oathing a bit of the blood patrician.
1853 S. G. Osborne in Visct. Ingestre Meliora 2nd Ser. 11 The dogs..kept up growls of defiance, till their owners oathed them into order.
1994 Times 5 Jan. 12/1 They oathed his plucky bids to jump the security queue.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.OE
v.a1425