oath means A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise. It carries an Arena rating of 1630, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, oath ranks #2,447 of 17,052 for Most Exacting Words, #2,686 of 17,052 for Most Elegant Words, #4,652 of 17,052 for Most Malleable Words, #5,854 of 17,052 for Most Sublime Words.
oath is pronounced /ˈəʊθ/.
Why “oath” is a great word
A solemn pledge or promise, often invoking a deity or sacred entity, to attest to the truth of a statement or the sincerity of one's commitment. From Middle English *ooth, oth, ath*, from Old English *āþ* ("oath"), from Proto-West Germanic *aiþ* ("oath"), from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz* ("oath"). Unlike a vow, which is a profound, often personal covenant with the eternal, or a pledge, a secular agreement of good faith, an oath is a formal contract of consequence, sworn upon the witness of something holy. It is the gritted-teeth utterance in a courtroom, the hand flat on a weathered scripture, the whispered words that bind a knight to his liege—a fragile human attempt to anchor truth in the shifting sands of intention, knowing the body will falter long before the vow is kept.
Etymology
From Middle English ooth, oth, ath, from Old English āþ (“oath”), from Proto-West Germanic *aiþ (“oath”), from Proto-Germanic *aiþaz (“oath”).
Cognate with Scots aith, athe (“oath”), North Frisian ith, iss (“oath”), Saterland Frisian Eed (“oath”), West Frisian eed (“oath”), Dutch eed (“oath”), German Eid (“oath”), Swedish ed (“oath”), Icelandic eið (“oath”), Latin ūtor (“make use of, employ, avail”, verb), Old Irish óeth (“oath”).
noun
- A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise.e.g.“take an oath”
- A statement or promise which is strengthened (affirmed) by such a pledge.e.g.“After taking the oath of office, she became the country's forty-third premier.”
- A light, irreverent or insulting appeal to a deity or other entity.
- A curse, a curse word.