oath
[ohth] 
[ohth
z, 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. |
bef. 900; ME ooth, OE āth; c. G Eid
2. vow, pledge. 5. profanity.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| oath (ōth) n. pl. oaths (ōthz, ōths)
[Middle English oth, from Old English āth.] |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oath
Oath\ ([=o]th), n.; pl. Oaths ([=o][th]z). [OE. othe, oth, ath, AS. [=a][eth]; akin to D. eed, OS. [=e][eth], G. eid, Icel. ei[eth]r, Sw. ed, Dan. eed, Goth. ai[thorn]s; cf. OIr. oeth.]1. A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with a reverent appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. "I have an oath in heaven" --Shak. An oath of secrecy for the concealing of those [inventions] which we think fit to keep secret. --Bacon. 2. A solemn affirmation, connected with a sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the temple, the altar, the blood of Abel, the Bible, the Koran, etc. 3. (Law) An appeal (in verification of a statement made) to a superior sanction, in such a form as exposes the party making the appeal to an indictment for perjury if the statement be false. 4. A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of profane swearing. "A terrible oath" --Shak.Cite This Source
oath
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Main Entry: oath
Function: noun
1 : a solemn attestation of the truth of one's words or the sincerity of one's intentions; specifically : one accompanied by calling upon a deity as a witness
2 : a promise (as to perform official duties faithfully) corroborated by an oath —compare PERJURY—under oath : under a solemn and esp. legal obligation to tell the truth (as when testifying)
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OATH
Object-oriented Abstract Type Hierarchy, a class library for C++ from Texas Instruments.
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Oath
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."
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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.
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