Covenant
nounA formal, binding agreement or solemn promise, often set out in a legal or religious document.
How to spell covenant
8 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce covenant
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does covenant mean?
- nounA formal, binding agreement or solemn promise, often set out in a legal or religious document.
- verbTo agree formally or promise by binding contract to do something.
Covenant in a sentence
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noun
The property deed includes a covenant that forbids building a second storey.
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verb
The tenants covenant to keep the garden in good repair.
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noun
The two nations signed a covenant pledging mutual defence.
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verb
Donors who covenant to give monthly help the charity plan its budget.
Where does covenant come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word comes from the Latin verb convenire, meaning 'to come together' or 'to agree', built from com- 'together' and venire 'to come'. Its present participle convenientem gave Old French covenant, a binding agreement reached when two parties came together, and English borrowed this form in the 1200s. From the start it carried the weight of a solemn, formal promise rather than a casual deal, which is why it took root in legal documents and in the religious language of the Bible, where it names the sacred bond between God and people. The same venire root surfaces in everyday relatives such as 'convene', 'convenient' and 'venue', all of which keep the idea of coming together. The spelling trap is the unstressed middle, since 'coven-ant' is easy to garble: remember the buried 'come together' sense and the -ant ending shared with words like 'tenant'.
How the word is built
- co- (together, from Latin com-)
- ven (come, from venire)
- -ant (agent/noun suffix)
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