Swearing

How to spell swearing

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce swearing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does swearing mean?

1. nounThe use of offensive, profane, or obscene language.
2. nounThe act of making a solemn declaration or formal promise, often under oath.

Swearing in a sentence

• The film carried a warning for strong language and swearing.

• The swearing of the new mayor took place at the town hall on Monday.

• Constant swearing in the open-plan office made several colleagues uncomfortable.

• Witnesses watched the swearing of the jury before the trial began.

Where does swearing come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the Old English verb swerian, which meant 'to take an oath' or 'to make a solemn promise', and which traces back to a common Germanic root shared with the German schwören and the Dutch zweren. For most of its history the word stayed close to that solemn sense: a person who swore was binding themselves before God or the law. The harsher modern meaning, using profane or offensive language, grew up alongside it because such language often invoked sacred names in vain, treating an oath casually or blasphemously. The spelling keeps the 'swear' base intact and simply adds '-ing', so the only real trap is the 'ear' vowel cluster, which sounds like 'air' yet is written with an 'e' before the 'a'. Both meanings, the formal oath and the rude outburst, therefore descend from the very same idea of words spoken with force.

How the word is built

• swear (Old English swerian: to take an oath)
• -ing (forming a verbal noun or participle)