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
- To renounce or deny something, especially under...
Ancestry of “forswear”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | forsweren | To perform perjury; to lie in legal testimony; To... |
| 2 | Old English | forswerian | to swear falsely, perjure, forswear; swear away... |
| 3 | Old English | for- | wrongly, away from, astray, abstention,... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | fra- | off, away; completely, fully, up |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |