oath

«oath» in Mova's school dictionary: a serious promise, often in front of others or in a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (an oath, oaths)

meaning for a pupil

1) An oath is a serious promise, often in front of others or in a court, that you will tell the truth or do something: "the witness took an oath". tree →

2) Under oath means having promised in a court to tell the truth. tree →

3) (old) An oath is a swear word or curse said in anger. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories and history, knights swear oaths of loyalty to their king, and witnesses in court swear an oath. In citizenship lessons, new citizens may take an oath to their country. In older books "he let out an oath" means he swore. Phrases: take an oath, swear an oath, under oath, oath of loyalty.

examples

• The knight swore an oath to protect the queen. tree →
• The witness took an oath to tell the truth. tree →
• Lying under oath is a crime. tree →
• New doctors take an oath to care for patients. tree →
• "Blast!" — the old sailor let out an oath. tree →
• The friends swore an oath never to tell the secret. tree →

note

Plural: oaths, pronounced with a "thz" sound: "oathz". "Take an oath" or "swear an oath". In old stories "an oath" can mean a curse word, not a promise.

In the corpora

• Others, like "blimey" and "strewth", were once oaths about God that have worn soft with time.
• "Blimey!" is a British cry of surprise that comes from the old oath "God blind me".
• "Holy cow!" is an American cry of surprise used instead of a ruder oath.
• "Holy moly!" is a jokey cry of surprise used instead of a ruder oath.
• Psalm 15 praises the one "who keeps an oath even when it hurts" (Psalm 15:4).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «oath» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.