How is it that one can SWEAR on his mother’s life that he’s telling the truth - and mean that he’s simply being completely honest… and someone else can SWEAR up and down that his mother&#% god*#*&% piece of *@&#**&% car won’t start? How does one explain the vast chasm between the meanings of the verb “TO SWEAR?”
The original meaning of “to swear” is to affirm by appeal to a deity (pretty much the same definition was used for the word in Old English; the vowel-changed past-tense form “swore” indicates its antiquity). This word was then applied to false or facetious oaths such as “goddamn”, and by extension to any profanity.
In fact I wonder if the word “profane” shows a similary etymological process. That word literally means “in front of the temple”–i.e. not allowed in a sacred area–which is obvious in the case of a word like “goddamn”. Gradually this came to mean something not discussed in polite (as opposed to sacred) company, though given the early Christian obsession with sexual mores, it’s not surprising that words used to describe a normal biological function would soon become “pro fano”.
It may be worth mentioning the related noun sense of “oath,”* which (while most people would consider it an archaism) has drifted into equivalence with “curse.”
Originally applied to expressions like “By God’s wounds!” and extended to monosyllabic ejaculatory contractions (like “Zounds!” for this specific example,) and to increasingly abstract “oaths” like “For f*ck’s sake,” it eventually came to be used for expressions that couldn’t be considered “oaths” in any literal sense, like “Aw, crap!”
*Which, on preview, I see that CJJ actually did, for the love of Mike.
Is this why Quakers (Society of Friends) do not swear to tell the truth in the one courtroom experience I watched one participate in?
Instead of swearing to tell the truth he said “I affirm.”
They take James 5:12 seriously.
This is also why the president of the United States may choose to “affirm” the oath of office rather than “swear” it.
Incidentally, when I read Treasure Island years ago, characters would occasionally “swear an oath.” Context suggested that the oaths were profane.
Anybody in the U.S., in any public court or legal situation, may elect to affirm rather than swear. There’s nothing special about the President’s oath of office.
Divergent meanings of words are extremely common in English. Thousands of everyday words have changed through usage to have double, contradictory, or a whole host of meanings. That’s the way English works. People use words they are familiar with in situations that are a step away from the original. And this happens over and over until the origins are lost. This continues to happen today, everyday and in every way.
Although some people decry this, it’s actually the basis for the strength of the English language.
Since I am Pagan, swearing “to God” would have no meaning to me. I was agnostic for many years until I found my Path. A few months ago when I fell and hurt myself badly, I was writhing in the water moaning “Oh God! Oh God!”
I guess what we learn as children really sticks with us! 