oath

[ohth]
noun, plural oaths [ohthz, ohths] .
1.
a solemn appeal to a deity, or to some revered person or thing, to witness one's determination to speak the truth, to keep a promise, etc.: to testify upon oath.
2.
a statement or promise strengthened by such an appeal.
3.
a formally affirmed statement or promise accepted as an equivalent of an appeal to a deity or to a revered person or thing; affirmation.
4.
the form of words in which such a statement or promise is made.
5.
an irreverent or blasphemous use of the name of God or anything sacred.
6.
any profane expression; curse; swearword: He slammed the door with a muttered oath.
7.
take an oath, to swear solemnly; vow.
00:10
Oath is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English ooth, Old English āth; cognate with German Eid

oaf, oath.


2. vow, pledge. 5. profanity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
oath (əʊθ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl oaths
1.  a solemn pronouncement to affirm the truth of a statement or to pledge a person to some course of action, often involving a sacred being or object as witnessRelated: juratory
2.  the form of such a pronouncement
3.  an irreverent or blasphemous expression, esp one involving the name of a deity; curse
4.  on oath, upon oath, under oath
 a.  under the obligation of an oath
 b.  law having sworn to tell the truth, usually with one's hand on the Bible
5.  take an oath to declare formally with an oath or pledge, esp before giving evidence
 
Related: juratory
 
[Old English āth; related to Old Saxon, Old Frisian ēth, Old High German eid]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

oath
O.E. að "oath, judicial swearing, solemn appeal to deity in witness of truth or a promise," from P.Gmc. *aithaz (cf. O.N. eiðr, Swed. ed, O.Fris. eth, Du. eed, Ger. eid, Goth. aiþs "oath"), from PIE *oi-to- "an oath" (cf. O.Ir. oeth "oath"). In ref. to careless invocations of divinity,
from c.1175.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

OATH definition


Object-oriented Abstract Type Hierarchy, a class library for C++ from Texas Instruments.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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Easton
Bible Dictionary

Oath definition


a solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions (Deut. 6:13; Jer. 4:2), in various forms (Gen. 16:5; 2 Sam. 12:5; Ruth 1:17; Hos. 4:15; Rom. 1:9), and taken in different ways (Gen. 14:22; 24:2; 2 Chr. 6:22). God is represented as taking an oath (Heb. 6:16-18), so also Christ (Matt. 26:64), and Paul (Rom. 9:1; Gal. 1:20; Phil. 1:8). The precept, "Swear not at all," refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man (Matt. 5:34,37). But if the words are taken as referring to oaths, then their intention may have been to show "that the proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

oath

sacred or solemn voluntary promise usually involving the penalty of divine retribution for intentional falsity and often used in legal procedures. It is not certain that the oath was always considered a religious act; such ancient peoples as the Germanic tribes, Greeks, Romans, and Scythians swore by their swords or other weapons. These peoples, however, were actually invoking a symbol of the power of a war god as a guarantee of their trustworthiness.

Learn more about oath with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Hence the humorous kernel inside that little irregularity during the oath.
They get in because doctors everywhere swear the same oath.
Candidates for naturalization currently swear an oath of allegiance to the
  state, without elaboration.
We still get a few every year that are fired for cause by violating that oath.
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