English
forswear
Forswear comes from Middle English forsweren ‘to perform perjury’, from Old English forswerian ‘to swear falsely’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *fraswarjan.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fraswarjanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150forswerian‘to swear falsely’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forsweren‘to perform perjury’
- Englishearliest quotation 1592forswear
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fraswarjanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150forswerian‘to swear falsely’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forsweren‘to perform perjury’
- Englishearliest quotation 1592forswear
Earliest quotation: 1592, William Shakespeare: “Never to woo her more; but do forswear her.”
Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘before, in front of’
Proto-Germanic *fra- ‘off, away’
Proto-West Germanic *fra- ‘forms verbs with the sense of "away from" or…’
English for-
Proto-Indo-European *swer- ‘to swear’
Proto-Germanic *swarjaną ‘to speak’
Proto-West Germanic *swarjan ‘to swear’
Old English swerian ‘to swear’
Middle English sweren ‘to take an oath that an assertion is true’
English swear
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *fraswarjan
Today it means
verb To renounce or deny something, especially under oath.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *fraswarjan / forswear