Swear unto me here by God, that thou wilt not deal
falsely with me. --Gen. xxi.
23.
He swore consent to your succession. --Shak.
2. (Law) To put to an oath; to cause to take an oath; to
administer an oath to; -- ofetn followed by in or into;
as, to swear witnesses; to swear a jury; to swear in an
officer; he was sworn into office.
3. To declare or charge upon oath; as, he swore treason
against his friend. --Johnson.
Now, by Apollo, king, Thou swear'st thy gods in
vain. --Shak.
{To swear the peace against one}, to make oath that one is
under the actual fear of death or bodily harm from the
person, in which case the person must find sureties that
he will keep the peace.
Ye shall swear by my name falsely. --Lev. xix.
12.
I swear by all the Roman gods. --Shak.
2. (Law) To give evidence on oath; as, to swear to the truth
of a statement; he swore against the prisoner.
3. To make an appeal to God in an irreverant manner; to use
the name of God or sacred things profanely; to call upon
God in imprecation; to curse.
[I] swore little; diced not above seven times a
week. --Shak.
{To swear by}, to place great confidence in a person or
thing; to trust implicitly as an authority. ``I simply
meant to ask if you are one of those who swear by Lord
Verulam.'' --Miss Edgeworth.
{To swear off}, to make a solemn vow, or a serious
resolution, to abstain from something; as, to swear off
smoking. [Slang]