swear

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /swɛə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /swɛɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

From Middle English sweren, swerien, from Old English swerian (“to swear, take an oath of office”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną (“to speak, swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to swear”).

Cognate with West Frisian swarre (“to swear”), Saterland Frisian swera (“to swear”), Dutch zweren (“to swear, vow”), Low German swören (“to swear”), sweren, German schwören (“to swear”), Danish sværge, Swedish svära (“to swear”), Icelandic sverja (“to swear”), Russian свара (svara, “quarrel”). Also cognate to Albanian var (“to hang, consider, to depend from”) through Proto-Indo-European.

The original sense in all Germanic languages is “to take an oath”. The sense “to use bad language” developed in Middle English and is based on the Christian prohibition against swearing in general (cf. Matthew 5:33-37) and invoking God’s name in particular (i.e. frequent swearing was considered similar to the use of obscene words).

swear (third-person singular simple present swears, present participle swearing, simple past swore or (archaic) sware, past participle sworn or (nonstandard) swore)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To take an oath, to promise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect.

   Synonyms: pledge, vow

   The knight swore not to return to the palace until he had found the treasure.

2. (transitive) To take an oath that an assertion is true.

   Synonyms: depose, affirm, testify

   The witness swore that the person she had seen running out of the bank was a foot shorter than the accused.

3. (transitive) To promise intensely that something is true; to strongly assert.

   I swear I don't know what you're talking about.

   My little brother is such a pest, I swear.

   • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:

     The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.

4. (transitive) To administer an oath to (a person).

   Let the witness be sworn.

5. (transitive, intransitive) To use offensive, profane, or obscene language.

   Synonyms: curse, execrate, turn the air blue; see also Thesaurus:swear

   • 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 38:

     An Australian was once appointed on contract, but he swore too much.

• In sense 1, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

From the above verb, or from Middle English sware, from Old English swaru, from Proto-Germanic *swarō.

swear (plural swears)

1. A swear word.

   Synonyms: curse, expletive, four-letter word; see also Thesaurus:swear word

   • 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Beach of Falesá:

     You might think it funny to hear this Kanaka girl come out with a big swear. No such thing. There was no swearing in her — no, nor anger; she was beyond anger, and meant the word simple and serious.

   • 1900, Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, page v. 27:

     ccording to his kind the man would smile cynically, or look sad, or let out a swear or two.

From Middle English swere, swer, swar, from Old English swǣr, swār (“heavy, heavy as a burden, of great weight, oppressive, grievous, painful, unpleasant, sad, feeling or expressing grief, grave, slow, dull, sluggish, slothful, indolent, inactive from weakness, enfeebled, weak”), from Proto-West Germanic *swār, from Proto-Germanic *swēraz (“heavy”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“heavy”).

Cognate with West Frisian swier (“heavy”), Dutch zwaar (“heavy, hard, difficult”), German schwer (“heavy, hard, difficult”), Danish svær (“heavy, hard, severe”), Swedish svår (“heavy, hard, severe”), Latin sērius (“earnest, grave, solemn, serious”) and Albanian varrë (“wound, plague”).

• sweer, sweir, swere

swear (comparative swearer or more swear, superlative swearest or most swear)

1. (Northern England, Scotland) Heavy.

   Synonyms: massive, massy, weighty

2. (Northern England, Scotland) Top-heavy; too high.

   Synonym: overbalanced

3. (Northern England, Scotland) Dull; lazy; slow.

   Synonyms: idle, work-shy; see also Thesaurus:lazy

   • 1881, Walter Gregor, chapter XXII, in Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-east of Scotland, London: Folk-Lore Society, page 161:

     Rise up gueedewife, an dinna be sweer, / B'soothan, b'soothan, / An deal yir chirity t' the peer, / An awa b'mony a toon.

4. (Northern England, Scotland) Reluctant; unwilling.

   Synonyms: disinclined, loath

   • 1805, John Stagg, “A New Year's Epistle”, in Miscellaneous Poems, Workington: W. Borrowdale, page 139:

     But faith, to glump ye I'd be sweer / I wish ye luck o' this new year

   • 1822, James Hogg, The Three Perils of Man:

     My father will maybe be a wee sweer to take ye in, but ye maun make your way on him the best gate ye can; he has the best stockit pantry on Teviot head, but a bit of a Laidlaw's fault, complaining aye maist when he has least reason.

5. (Northern England, Scotland) Niggardly.

   Synonyms: miserly, penurious; see also Thesaurus:stingy

   • 1714, Robert Smith, Poems of Controversy Betwixt Episcopacy and Presbytery, 2nd edition, Edinburgh: R. Syme & Son, published 1853, page 61:

     For if my Pen shall turn as Sweir's their Purse / I fear this is the last I'll write in Verse

swear (plural swears)

1. (Northern England, Scotland) A lazy time; a short rest during working hours (especially field labour); a siesta.

   Synonyms: nap, undermeal

swear (third-person singular simple present swears, present participle swearing, simple past and past participle sweared)

1. (Northern England, Scotland) To be lazy; rest for a short while during working hours.

   Synonyms: laze about, loaf, take it easy

• “swear”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Wright, Joseph (1904) The English Dialect Dictionary‎, volume 5, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 874

• wares, Rawes, sewar, wears, sware, resaw, Wares, sawer

From Proto-Germanic *swihaniz, plural of *swihô, of further unknown origin. Cognate with Latin Suiones, Gothic suehans.

swear m

1. the Swedes (of Sweden proper)