sweren

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch sweren, from Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *swer-.

Verb

swēren

1. to swear, to declare solemnly
2. to swear, to curse

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

• swerren

Descendants

• Dutch: zweren
  • Afrikaans: sweer
  • Negerhollands: sweer
• Limburgish: zwaere

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *sweran, from Proto-Germanic *sweraną.

Verb

swēren

1. to hurt, to be painful

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: zweren

Further reading

• “sweren (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “sweren (IV)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “sweren (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “sweren (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II

Middle English

Alternative forms

• swerien, swerie, swern, sweryn, zuerie, sweriȝen, swerye, swere, sueren

Etymology

From Old English swerian, from Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną; a cognate of Middle Low German sweren, Old Swedish sværia, Old Danish swæriæ, Middle Dutch swēren, and Middle High German swern.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈswɛːrən/, /ˈswɛːriən/

Verb

sweren

1. To swear to do something; to make an oral binding statement.
   1. To swear while laying hands on something as confirmation.
   2. To swear by using a deity or divinity as witness.
   3. To swear to remain truthful, honest and trustworthy.
   4. To swear to adhere or remain faithful to a given person.
   5. (rare) To give approval or permission by swearing.
2. To give witness in a legal or judicial context.
3. To curse; to utter swearwords (especially as part of a promise)
4. To approve or affirm an oral binding statement.
5. To form a conspiracy or secret pact; to effect covertly.
6. To make a decisive and important statement or claim.
7. (rare) To claim or exclaim; to state.
8. (rare) To lay the foundation for a religion.

Usage notes

Occasional weak forms are also found throughout the Middle English period.

Conjugation

Conjugation of sweren (strong class 6/4)

infinitive	(to) sweren, swere
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	swere	swor, swar
2nd-person singular	swerest	swore, sware, swor, swar
3rd-person singular	swereth	swor, swar
subjunctive singular	swere	swore1, sware1
imperative singular		—
plural2	sweren, swere	sworen, swore, swaren, sware
imperative plural	swereth, swere	—
participles	swerynge, swerende	sworen, swore, sworn, ysworen, yswore, ysworn

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Related terms

• forsweren
• swerer
• sweryng

Descendants

• English: swear
• Scots: swer, swere, sweir

References

• “swēren, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-3.

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną.

Verb

sweren

1. to swear (an oath)

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• bisweren

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: swēren, swerren
  • Dutch: zweren
    • Afrikaans: sweer
    • Negerhollands: sweer
  • Limburgish: zwaere

Further reading

• “sweren”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old High German

Alternative forms

• swerien, swerren

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną, whence also Old Saxon swerian, Old English swerian, Old Norse sverja, Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌽 (swaran). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swer-.

Verb

sweren

1. to swear

Descendants

• Middle High German: swern
  • Alemannic German: schwere
  • German: schwören
  • Luxembourgish: schwieren