Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “forswear” come from?

Forswear comes from Middle English forsweren, from Old English forswerian, combining the prefix for- (from Proto-Germanic fra- and Proto-Indo-European per-, meaning "forward") with a verb root from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH-.

forswear (English): To renounce or deny something, especially under...

Definitions

  1. To renounce or deny something, especially under...

Ancestry of “forswear”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishforswerenTo perform perjury; to lie in legal testimony; To...
2Old Englishforswerianto swear falsely, perjure, forswear; swear away...
3Old Englishfor-wrongly, away from, astray, abstention,...
4Proto-Germanicfra-off, away; completely, fully, up
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “forswear”

  • forsworn
  • forsweareth
  • forswearest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →