Forswerynge

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of breaking a sworn promise by lying under oath or solemnly giving up a claim, belief, or allegiance
2. Making a false solemn declaration, or formally renouncing a vow, pledge, or loyalty that one has previously sworn
3. Perjury, or the solemn abandonment of a previously sworn commitment, as an old term for betraying an oath

Etymology: The most surprising thing about this word is that its core meaning is self-contradictory. "Forswear" comes from Old English "forswerian," built from the intensive or negative prefix "for-" and "swerian," "to swear." Its earliest sense was to swear falsely or perjure oneself. Yet the verb also came to mean to renounce something under oath, so "to forswear wine" means to swear off it, while "to forswear oneself" means to lie under oath. "Forswerynge" is a Middle English spelling of the verbal noun or present participle, with the "-ynge" ending corresponding to modern "-ing." Medieval spelling was unstandardized, so the same word could appear in many variant forms, and this one shows the older form before the modern "forswearing" took hold.