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

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• (General Australian)IPA^(key):/sweː/
• (New Zealand,without thecheer–chair merger)IPA^(key):/sweə/
• (New Zealand,cheer–chair merger)IPA^(key):/swiə/
• (Scotland)IPA^(key):/sweɹ/
• (Lancashire,fair–fur merger)IPA^(key):/swɜː(ɹ)/
• Rhymes:-ɛə(ɹ)

FromMiddle Englishsweren,swerien, fromOld Englishswerian(“to swear, take an oath of office”), fromProto-West Germanic*swarjan, fromProto-Germanic*swarjaną(“to speak, swear”), fromProto-Indo-European*swer-(“to swear”).

Cognate withWest Frisianswarre(“to swear”),Saterland Frisianswera(“to swear”),Dutchzweren(“to swear, vow”),Low Germanswören(“to swear”),sweren,Germanschwören(“to swear”),Danishsværge,Swedishsvära(“to swear”),Icelandicsverja(“to swear”),Russianсвара(svara,“quarrel”). Also cognate toAlbanianvar(“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 presentswears,present participleswearing,simple pastsworeor(archaic)sware,past participleswornor(nonstandard)swore)

1. (ambitransitive) To take anoath, topromise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect.

   Synonyms:pledge,vow

   The knightswore 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 witnessswore 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.

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

   My little brother is such a pest, Iswear.

   • 1920,Mary Roberts Rinehart,Avery Hopwood, chapter I, inThe Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book;241), New York, N.Y.:Dell Publishing Company,→OCLC,page01:

     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'tswear he knew his face.

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

   Let the witness besworn.

5. (ambitransitive) To useoffensive,profane, orobscene language.

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

   • 1956,Anthony Burgess,Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published1972, page38:

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

• In sense 1, this is acatenative verb that takes theto infinitive. SeeAppendix:English catenative verbs

From the above verb, or fromMiddle Englishsware, fromOld Englishswaru, fromProto-Germanic*swarō.

swear (pluralswears)

1. Aswear word.

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

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

     You might think it funny to hear this Kanaka girl come out with a bigswear. 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, pagev. 27:

     [A]ccording to his kind the man would smile cynically, or look sad, or let out aswear or two.

FromMiddle Englishswere,swer,swar, fromOld Englishswǣr,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”), fromProto-West Germanic*swār, fromProto-Germanic*swēraz(“heavy”), fromProto-Indo-European*swer-(“heavy”).

Cognate withWest Frisianswier(“heavy”),Dutchzwaar(“heavy, hard, difficult”),Germanschwer(“heavy, hard, difficult”),Danishsvær(“heavy, hard, severe”),Swedishsvår(“heavy, hard, severe”),Latinsērius(“earnest, grave, solemn, serious”) andAlbanianvarrë(“wound, plague”).

• sweer,sweir,swere

swear (comparativeswearerormoreswear,superlativeswearestormostswear)

1. (Northern England,Scotland)Heavy.

   Synonyms:massive,massy,weighty

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

   Synonym:overbalanced

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

   Synonyms:idle,work-shy;see alsoThesaurus:lazy

   • 1881,Walter Gregor, chapter XXII, inNotes on the Folk-lore of the North-east of Scotland, London: Folk-Lore Society,page161:

     Rise up gueedewife, an dinna besweer, / 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”, inMiscellaneous Poems, Workington: W. Borrowdale,page139:

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

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

     My father will maybe be a weesweer 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 alsoThesaurus:stingy

   • 1714, Robert Smith,Poems of Controversy Betwixt Episcopacy and Presbytery, 2nd edition, Edinburgh: R. Syme & Son, published1853,page61:

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

swear (pluralswears)

1. (Northern England,Scotland) A lazytime; a shortrest during working hours (especially field labour); asiesta.

   Synonyms:nap,undermeal

swear (third-person singular simple presentswears,present participleswearing,simple past and past participlesweared)

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

   Synonyms:laze about,loaf,take it easy

• “swear”, inOneLook Dictionary Search.
• Wright, Joseph (1904)The English Dialect Dictionary‎^[1], volume 5, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page874

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

FromProto-Germanic*swihaniz, plural of*swihô, of further unknown origin. Cognate withLatinSuiones,Gothicsuehans.

swear m

1. theSwedes(of Sweden proper)