Forswear
/fɔːrˈswɛr/noun
To renounce or reject something; to swear falsely.
Did you know?In older English, forswearing could mean both breaking an oath and making a false oath, because the word sits right at the boundary between sacred promise and spiritual betrayal.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
forswerian
“to deny by oath; to swear falsely; to renounce by oath”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fra-sweraną
“to swear falsely or deny under oath”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swer-
“to swear, speak an oath”
Old English
OE
swerian
“to swear, take an oath”
Middle English
ME
forsweren
“to renounce, abjure; also to swear falsely”
Modern English
English
forswear
“to renounce solemnly or to swear falsely”