Oath

7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Oath \Oath\ ([=o]th), n.; pl. {Oaths} ([=o][th]z). [OE. othe,
     oth, ath, AS. [=a][eth]; akin to D. eed, OS. [=e][eth], G.
     eid, Icel. ei[eth]r, Sw. ed, Dan. eed, Goth. ai[thorn]s; cf.
     OIr. oeth.]
     1. A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with a reverent
        appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. "I have


        an oath in heaven" --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              An oath of secrecy for the concealing of those
              [inventions] which we think fit to keep secret.
                                                    --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A solemn affirmation, connected with a sacred object, or
        one regarded as sacred, as the temple, the altar, the
        blood of Abel, the Bible, the Koran, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Law) An appeal (in verification of a statement made) to a
        superior sanction, in such a form as exposes the party
        making the appeal to an indictment for perjury if the
        statement be false.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine
        Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or
        as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of
        profane swearing. "A terrible oath" --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  oath
       n 1: profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger;
            "expletives were deleted" [syn: {curse}, {curse word}, {expletive},
             {swearing}, {swearword}, {cuss}]
       2: a commitment to tell the truth (especially in a court of
          law); to lie under oath is to become subject to
          prosecution for perjury [syn: {swearing}]
       3: a solemn promise, usually invoking a divine witness,
          regarding your future acts or behavior; "they took an oath
          of allegience"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  48 Moby Thesaurus words for "oath":
     Bible oath, assurance, avouch, avouchment, avow, avowal, curse,
     cuss, cuss word, dirty name, dirty word, dysphemism, epithet,
     expletive, extrajudicial oath, faith, foul invective, guarantee,
     guaranty, imprecation, ironclad oath, judicial oath, loyalty oath,
     malediction, naughty word, no-no, oath of allegiance,
     oath of office, obscenity, official oath, parole, pledge, plight,
     profane oath, profanity, promise, solemn declaration, solemn oath,
     swear, swearword, sworn statement, test oath, troth, vow, warrant,
     warranty, word, word of honor
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  OATH
       
          Object-oriented Abstract Type Hierarchy, a class library for
          C++ from {Texas Instruments}.
       
       

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Oath
     a solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions (Deut.
     6:13; Jer. 4:2), in various forms (Gen. 16:5; 2 Sam. 12:5; Ruth
     1:17; Hos. 4:15; Rom. 1:9), and taken in different ways (Gen.
     14:22; 24:2; 2 Chr. 6:22). God is represented as taking an oath
     (Heb. 6:16-18), so also Christ (Matt. 26:64), and Paul (Rom.
     9:1; Gal. 1:20; Phil. 1:8). The precept, "Swear not at all,"
     refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man
     (Matt. 5:34,37). But if the words are taken as referring to
     oaths, then their intention may have been to show "that the
     proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when
     evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as
     decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow."
     

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  OATH. A declaration made according to law, before a competent tribunal or 
  officer, to tell the truth; or it is the act of one who, when lawfully 
  required to tell the truth, takes God to witness that what he says is true. 
  It is a religious act by which the party invokes God not only to witness the 
  truth and sincerity of his promise, but also to avenge his imposture or 
  violated faith, or in other words to punish his perjury if he shall be 
  guilty of it. 10 Toull. n. 343 a 348; Puff. book, 4, c. 2, s. 4; Grot. book 
  2, c. 13, s. 1; Ruth Inst. book 1, ch. 14, s. 1; 1 Stark. Ev. 80; Merl. 
  Repert. Convention; Dalloz, Dict. Serment: Dur. n. 592, 593; 3 Bouv. Inst. 
  n. 3180. 
       2. It is proper to distinguish two things in oaths; 1. The invocation 
  by which the God of truth, who knows all things, is taken to witness. 2. The 
  imprecation by which he is asked as a just and all-powerful being, to punish 
  perjury. 
       3. The commencement of an oath is made by the party taking hold of the 
  book, after being required by the officer to do so, and ends generally with 
  the words,"so help you God," and kissing the book, when the form used is 
  that of swearing on the Evangelists. 9 Car. & P. 137. 
       4. Oaths are taken in various forms; the most usual is upon the Gospel 
  by taking the book in the hand; the words commonly used are, "You do swear 
  that," &c. "so help you God," and then kissing the book. The origin of this 
  oath may be traced to the Roman law, Nov. 8, tit. 3; Nov. 74, cap. 5; Nov. 
  124, cap. 1; and the kissing the book is said to be an imitation of the 
  priest's kissing the ritual as a sign of reverence, before he reads it to 
  the people. Rees, Cycl. h.v. 
       5. Another form is by the witness or party promising holding up his 
  right hand while the officer repeats to him,"You do swear by Almighty God, 
  the searcher of hearts, that," &c., "And this as you shall answer to God at 
  the great day." 
       6. In another form of attestation commonly called an affirmation, 
  (q.v.) the  officer repeats, "You do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare 
  and affirm, that," &c. 
        7. The oath, however, may be varied in any other form, in order to 
  conform to the religious opinions of the person who takes it. 16 Pick. 154, 
  156, 157; 6 Mass. 262; 2 Gallis. 346; Ry. & Mo. N. P. Cas. 77; 2 Hawks, 458. 
       8. Oaths may conveniently be divided into promissory, assertory, 
  judicial and extra judicial. 
       9. Among promissory oaths may be classed all those taken by public 
   officers on entering into office, to support the constitution of the United 
  States, and to perform the duties of the office. 
      10. Custom-house oaths and others required by law, not in judicial 
  proceedings, nor from officers entering into office, may be classed among 
  the assertory oaths, when the party merely asserts the fact to be true. 
      11. Judicial oaths, or those administered in judicial proceedings. 
      12. Extra-judicial oaths are those taken without authority of law, 
  which, though binding in foro conscientiae, do not render the persons who 
  take them liable to the punishment of perjury, when false. 
      13. Oaths are also divided into various kinds with reference to the 
  purpose for which they are applied; as oath of allegiance, oath of calumny, 
  oath ad litem, decisory oath, oath of supremacy, and the like. As to the 
  persons authorized to administer oaths, see Gilp. R. 439; 1 Tyler, 347; 1 
  South. 297; 4 Wash. C. C. R. 555; 2 Blackf. 35. 
      14. The act of congress of June 1, 1789, 1 Story's L. U. S. p. 1, 
  regulates the time and manner of administering certain oaths as follows: 
      Sec. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the oath or affirmation required by the 
  sixth article of the constitution of the United States, shall be 
  administered in the form following, to wit, "I, A B, do solemnly swear or 
  affirm, (as the case may be,) that I will support the constitution of the 
  United States." The said oath or affirmation shall be administered within 
  three days after the passing of this act, by any one member of the senate, 
  to the president of the senate, and by him to all the members, and to the 
  secretary; and by the speaker of the house of representatives, to all the 
  members who have not taken a similar oath, by virtue of a particular 
  resolution of the said house, and to the clerk: and in case of the absence 
  of any member from the service of either house, at the time prescribed for 
  taking the said oath or affirmation, the same shall be administered to such 
  member when he shall appear to take his seat. 
      15.-Sec. 2. That at the first session of congress after every general 
  election of representatives, the oath or affirmation aforesaid shall be 
  administered by any one member of the house of representatives to the 
  speaker; and by him to all the members present, and to the clerk, previous 
  to entering on any other business; and to the members who shall afterwards 
  appear, previous to taking their seats. The president of the senate for the 
  time being, shall also administer the said oath or affirmation to each 
  senator who shall hereafter be elected, previous to his taking his seat; and 
  in any future case of a president of the senate, who shall not have taken 
  the said oath or affirmation, the same shall be administered to him by any 
  one of the members of the senate. 
      16.-Sec. 3. That the members of the several state legislatures, at the 
  next session of the said legislatures respectively, and all executive and 
  judicial officers of the several states, who have been heretofore chosen or 
  appointed, or, who shall be chosen or appointed before the first day of 
  August next, and who shall then be in office, shall, within one month 
  thereafter, take the same oath or affirmation, except where they shall have 
  taken it before which may be administered by any person authorized by the 
  law of the state, in which such office shall be holden, to administer oaths. 
  And the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and 
  judicial officers of the several states, who shall be chosen or appointed 
  after the said first day of August, shall, before they proceed to execute 
  the duties of their respective offices, take the foregoing oath or 
  affirmation, which shall be administered by the person or persons, who, by 
  the law of the state, shall be authorized to administer the oath of office; 
  and the person or persons so administering the oath hereby required to be 
  taken, shall cause a record or certificate thereof to be made, in the same 
  manner as, by the law of the state, he or they shall be directed to record 
  or certify the oath of office. 
      17.-Sec. 4. That all officers appointed or hereafter to be appointed, 
  under the authority of the United States, shall, before they act in their 
  respective offices, take the same oath or affirmation, which shall be 
  administered by the person or persons who shall be authorized by law to 
  administer to such officers their respective oaths of office; and such 
  officers shall incur the same penalties in case of failure, as shall be 
  imposed by law in case of failure in taking their respective oaths of 
  office. 
      18.-Sec. 5. That the secretary of the senate, and the clerk of the 
  house of representatives, for the time being, shall, at the time of taking 
  the oath or affirmation aforesaid, each take an oath or affirmation in the 
  words following, to wit; "I, A B, secretary of the senate, or clerk of the 
  house of representatives (as the case may be) of the United States of 
  America, do solemnly swear or affirm, that I will truly and faithfully 
  discharge the duties of my said office to the best of my knowledge and 
  abilities." 
      19. There are several kinds of oaths, some of which are enumerated by 
  law. 
      20. Oath of calumny. This term is used in the civil law. It is an oath 
  which a plaintiff was obliged to take that he was not actuated by a spirit 
  of chicanery in commencing his action, but that he had bona fide a good 
  cause of action. Poth. Pand. lib. 5, t. 16 and 17, s. 124. This oath is 
  somewhat similar to our affidavit of a cause of action. Vide Dunlap's Adm. 
  Pr. 289, 290. 
      21. No instance is known in which the oath of calumny has been adopted 
  in practice in the admiralty courts of the United States; Dunl. Adm. Pr. 
  290; and by the 102d of the rules of the district court for the southern 
  district of New York, the oath of calumny shall not be required of any party 
  in any stage of a cause. Vide Inst. 4, 16, 1; Code, 2, 59, 2; Dig. 10, 2, 
  44; 1 Ware's R. 427. 
      22. Decisory oath. By this term in the civil law is understood an oath 
  which one of the parties defers or refers back to the other, for the 
  decision of the cause. 
      23. It may be deferred in any kind of civil contest whatever, in 
  questions of possession or of claim; in personal actions and in real. The 
  plaintiff may defer the oath to the defendant, whenever he conceives he has 
  not sufficient proof of the fact which is the foundation of his claim; and 
  in like manner, the defendant may defer it to the plaintiff when he has not 
  sufficient proof of his defence. The person to whom the oath is deferred, 
  ought either to take it or refer it back, and if he will not do either, the 
  cause should be decided against him. Poth. on Oblig. P. 4, c. 3, s. 4. 
      24. The decisory oath has been practically adopted in the district court 
  of the United States, for the district of Massachusetts, and admiralty 
  causes have been determined in that court by the oath decisory; but the 
  cases in which this oath has been adopted, have been where the tender has 
  been accepted; and no case is known to have occurred there in which the oath 
  has been refused and tendered back to the adversary. Dunl. Adm. Pr. 290, 
  291. 
      25. A judicial oath is a solemn declaration made in some form warranted 
  by law, before a court of justice or some officer authorized to administer 
  it, by which the person who takes it promises to tell the truth, the whole 
  truth, and nothing but the truth, in relation to his knowledge of the matter 
  then under examination, and appeals to God for his sincerity. 
      26. In the civil law, a judicial oath is that which is given in judgment 
  by one party to another. Dig. 12, 2, 25. 
      27. Oath in litem, in the civil law, is an oath which was deferred to 
  the complainant as to the value of the thing in dispute on failure of other 
  proof, particularly when there was a fraud on the part of the defendant, and 
  be suppressed proof in his possession. See Greenl. Ev. Sec. 348; Tait on Ev. 
  280; 1 Vern. 207; 1 Eq. Cas. Ab. 229; 1 Greenl. R. 27; 1 Yeates, R. 34; 12 
  Vin. Ab. 24. In general the oath of the party cannot, by the common law, be 
  received to establish his claim, but to this there are exceptions. The oath 
  in litem is admitted in two classes of cases: 1. Where it has been already 
  proved, that the party against whom it is offered has been guilty of some 
  fraud or other tortious or unwarrantable act of intermeddling with the 
  complainant's goods, and no other evidence can be had of the amount of 
  damages. As, for example, where a trunk of goods was delivered to a 
  shipmaster at one port to be carried to another, and, on the passage, he 
  broke the trunk open and rifled it of its contents; in an action by the 
  owners of the goods against the shipmaster, the facts above mentioned having 
  been proved aliunde, the plaintiff was held, a competent witness to testify 
  as to the contents of the trunk. 1 Greenl. 27; and see 10 Watts, 335; 1 
  Greenl. Ev. Sec. 348; 1 Yeates, 34; 2 Watts, 220; 1 Gilb. Ev. by Lofft, 244. 
  2. The oath in litem is also admitted on the ground of public policy, where 
  it is deemed essential to the purposes of justice. Tait on Ev. 280. But this 
  oath is admitted only on the ground of necessity. An example may be 
  mentioned of a case where a statute can receive no execution, unless the 
  party interested be admitted as a witness. 16 Pet. 203. 
      28. A promissory oath is an oath taken, by authority of law, by which 
  the party declares that he will fulfill certain duties therein mentioned, as 
  the oath which an alien takes on becoming naturalized, that he will support 
  the constitution of the United States: the oath which a judge takes that he 
  will perform the duties of his office. The breach of this does not involve 
  the party in the legal crime or punishment of perjury. 
      29. A suppletory oath in the civil and ecclesiastical law, is an oath 
  required by the judge from either party in a cause, upon half proof already 
  made, which being joined to half proof, supplies the evidence required to 
  enable the judge to pass upon the subject. Vide Str. 80; 3 Bl. Com. 270. 
      30. A purgatory oath is one by which one destroys the presumptions which 
  were against him, for he is then said to purge himself, when he removes the 
  suspicions which were against him; as, when a man is in contempt for not 
  attending court as a witness, he may purge himself of the contempt, by 
  swearing to a fact which is an ample excuse. See Purgation. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  OATH, n.  In law, a solemn appeal to the Deity, made binding upon the
  conscience by a penalty for perjury.