schwören

See also: schworen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German swern, from Old High German swerien, sweren, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *swer-. Compare Low German swören, sweren, Hunsrik schweere, Dutch zweren, English swear, Danish sværge, Swedish svära.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃvøːʁən/
• Rhymes: -øːʀən

Verb

1. (intransitive or transitive) to swear; to take an oath

   Du brauchst nicht zu schwören. Ich glaube es dir auch so.

   You don’t need to swear. I believe you already.

   Ich schwöre es dir. ― I swear it to you.

   Sie hat mir Treue geschworen. ― She swore me loyalty.

   Er hat einen Eid geschworen. ― He swore an oath.

2. (intransitive, with auf + accusative) to swear by; to be convinced of; to like

   Meine Nachbarin schwört auf dieses Duschbad.

   My neighbour swears by this shower gel.

Usage notes

• That which is invoked during the oath is given with the prepositions bei (“by”) or auf (“on”). The latter is chiefly used with something one holds or touches while swearing, e.g. auf die Bibel (“on the Bible”). Otherwise bei is commoner and only it is generally appropriate with persons or living beings, e.g. bei Gott (“by God, to God”).
• The subject or topic of the oath is given with the preposition auf, e.g. ich würde nicht darauf schwören (“I wouldn’t swear on it”). Only this preposition is also used in the idiom “to swear by”. Hence, the German idiom may mean that one vouches for the quality or effectiveness of something, rather than that one cherishes it so much as to invoke it in one’s oaths.

Synonyms

• (to swear): geloben; versprechen (both narrower)

Derived terms

• beschwören
• verschwören
• Stein und Bein schwören

Related terms

• Schwur

Further reading

• “schwören” in Duden online