Abjuracioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A solemn, formal renouncing of a belief, loyalty or claim, often made under oath before witnesses or an authority
2. The act of publicly and firmly giving up a faith, allegiance or right, typically sworn to in a binding and official way
3. Formal repudiation of a former belief, oath or allegiance, usually declared openly and sometimes under sworn obligation

Etymology: Abjuration is a Middle English word, and its spelling "abjuracioun" shows its French ancestry. It comes from Old French "abjuracion," itself from Latin "abiurare," meaning "to deny on oath" or "to renounce solemnly." The Latin verb is built from "ab," "away from," and "iurare," "to swear," so at root it describes swearing something away, a formal oath cancelling an old allegiance. In medieval England the word had a precise legal sense. An accused person who had sought sanctuary in a church could confess their crime before a coroner and then swear an oath to leave the realm, never to return, a practice called abjuration of the realm. The sworn renunciation bound them to a specific route to a port, and failing to reach it could mean outlawry. The sense of formally giving up a belief or allegiance under oath grew out of this legal setting and remains the word's main meaning today.