word for the day 8/16/05 forswear/foreswear
forswear \for-SWAIR\ verb 1 : to make a liar of (oneself) under or as if under oath 2 a : to reject or renounce under oath *b : to renounce earnestly 3 : to deny under oath
Example sentence: She had always enjoyed the company of men, but after a string of bad relationships, she forswore their company in favor of a dog.
"Forswear" (which is also sometimes spelled "foreswear") is the modern English equivalent of the Old English "forswerian." It can suggest denial ("[Thou] would'st forswear thy own hand and seal" -- John Arbuthnot, _John Bull_) or perjury ("Is it the interest of any man . . . to lie, forswear himself, indulge hatred, seek desperate revenge, or do murder?" -- Charles Dickens, _American Notes_). But in current use, it most often has to do with giving something up, as in "the warring parties agreed to forswear violence" and "she refused to forswear her principles." The word "abjure" is often used as a synonym of "forswear," though with less emphasis on the suggestion of perjury or betrayal of the beliefs that one holds dear.
Example sentence: She had always enjoyed the company of men, but after a string of bad relationships, she forswore their company in favor of a dog.
"Forswear" (which is also sometimes spelled "foreswear") is the modern English equivalent of the Old English "forswerian." It can suggest denial ("[Thou] would'st forswear thy own hand and seal" -- John Arbuthnot, _John Bull_) or perjury ("Is it the interest of any man . . . to lie, forswear himself, indulge hatred, seek desperate revenge, or do murder?" -- Charles Dickens, _American Notes_). But in current use, it most often has to do with giving something up, as in "the warring parties agreed to forswear violence" and "she refused to forswear her principles." The word "abjure" is often used as a synonym of "forswear," though with less emphasis on the suggestion of perjury or betrayal of the beliefs that one holds dear.
posted by hellkittennyc at 11:25 AM
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