Swear

How to spell swear

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce swear

What does swear mean?

1. verbTo declare or promise something formally and earnestly, often under oath.
2. verbTo use offensive or profane language, especially in anger.

Swear in a sentence

• Witnesses must swear to tell the truth before testifying.

• He tends to swear loudly whenever the printer jams at work.

• New citizens swear an oath of allegiance at the ceremony.

• The coach asked the players not to swear in front of the children.

Where does swear come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English word, descending directly from the Old English verb swerian, which meant 'to make a solemn promise' or 'to take an oath'. It belongs to a wide Germanic family, with close relatives in Old Norse sverja, Dutch zweren, and German schwören, all carrying the same idea of binding oneself by a vow. The deeper root meant something like 'to speak' or 'to answer formally', which is why the same ancient source also gave us the word 'answer'. The modern sense of uttering profanity is a later development: cursing was originally understood as misusing sacred oaths, swearing 'by God' in anger rather than in solemn pledge, so the two meanings grew from one stem. Because it is an old Germanic verb, the spelling keeps the irregular 'swear/swore/sworn' pattern and the slightly tricky 'ea' that sounds like 'air', a spelling habit it shares with 'wear' and 'bear'.

How the word is built

• swear (a single Old English root verb swerian meaning 'to take an oath'); no prefix or suffix, an irregular verb whose past tense is 'swore'