English

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Etymology

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From Middle English sweryng; equivalent to swear +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛəɹɪŋ

Verb

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swearing

  1. present participle and gerund of swear
    • 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
      Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.

Noun

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swearing (countable and uncountable, plural swearings)

  1. The act of swearing, or making an oath.
    • 1693 (date written), D. F. [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], An Essay upon Projects, London: [] R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, [], published 1697, →OCLC:
      No man is believed a jot the more for all the asseverations, damnings, and swearings he makes.

Derived terms

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