unswornadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈswɔːn/, U.S. /ˌənˈswɔrn/ 1. Of persons: Not subjected to, or bound by, an oath.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [adjective] > not under an obligation > not bound by an oath
unsworn1529
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes in Wks. 133/2 For none of them can tel what was said to an other, & yet they be vnsworne also.
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance ii. xv. f. xviv Yet are there many that dare secrely detecte,..and wyll not vncalled and vnsworen, tell no tale at all.
1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha i. x. 58 Albeit that it be the firste Othe that I find to haue bene ministred to Iustices of the Peace, yet I think they were not vnsworne before, nor at any time after.
1602 W. Segar Honor Mil. & Civill i. v. 7 That no Citizen unsworne, should remaine out of Italie more then three yeares.
1678 J. Dryden All for Love v. 68 Is there one God unsworn to my Destruction?
1701 H. Prideaux Direct. Church-wardens 11 Whatever they do.., while unsworn, is all to their own wrong.
1710 J. Chamberlayne Present State Great Brit. I. ii. xv. 128 There are in this Court Three Officers unsworn.
1852 Fraser's Mag. Mar. 246/1 He may consequently be supposed, to use the language of the law, ‘to stand unindifferent as he stands unsworn’.
1884 R. W. Church Bacon iii. 75 An unsworn and unpaid member of the Learned Counsel.
2. Not confirmed by, or sworn as, an oath.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > contrary evidence > [adjective] > not supported or corroborated
unsworea1400
unsupported1420
unbacked1609
unsworna1623
disconfirmatory1949
a1623 H. Swinburne Treat. Spousals (1686) 11 Of Spousals, some be sworn and some unsworn; that is to say, some Spousals be confirmed by an Oath and some contracted without an Oath.
a1800 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey (ed. 2) x. 419 When, therefore, nought of all her solemn oath Unsworn remain'd, I climb'd her stately bed.
1843 Act 6 & 7 Vict. c. 22 (title) The Admission, in certain Cases, of unsworn Testimony in Civil and Criminal Proceedings.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 July 9/2 Granting summonses..on unsworn information.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
adj.1529