different between swear vs protest

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sw??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /sw??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Etymology 1

From Middle English sweren, swerien, from Old English swerian (“to swear, take an oath of office”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjan? (“to speak, swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to swear”).

Cognate with West Frisian swarre (“to swear”), Saterland Frisian swera (“to swear”), Dutch zweren (“to swear, vow”), Low German swören (“to swear”), sweren, German schwören (“to swear”), Danish sværge, Swedish svära (“to swear”), Icelandic sverja (“to swear”), Russian ????? (svara, “quarrel”). Also cognate to Albanian var (“to hang, consider, to depend from”) through Proto-Indo-European.

The original sense in all Germanic languages is “to take an oath”. The sense “to use bad language” developed in Middle English and is based on the Christian prohibition against swearing in general (cf. Matthew 5:33-37) and invoking God’s name in particular (i.e. frequent swearing was considered similar to the use of obscene words).

Verb

swear (third-person singular simple present swears, present participle swearing, simple past swore or (archaic) sware, past participle sworn or yswore)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To take an oath, to promise.

   • The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.

2. (transitive, intransitive) To use offensive, profane, or obscene language.

Usage notes

• In sense 1, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:swear word
• See also Thesaurus:swear

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From the above verb, or from Middle English sware, from Old English swaru, from Proto-Germanic *swar?.

Noun

swear (plural swears)

1. A swear word.
   • 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Beach of Falesá

     You might think it funny to hear this Kanaka girl come out with a big swear. No such thing. There was no swearing in her — no, nor anger; she was beyond anger, and meant the word simple and serious.

Etymology 3

From Middle English swere, swer, swar, from Old English sw?r, sw?r (“heavy, heavy as a burden, of great weight, oppressive, grievous, painful, unpleasant, sad, feeling or expressing grief, grave, slow, dull, sluggish, slothful, indolent, inactive from weakness, enfeebled, weak”), from Proto-West Germanic *sw?r, from Proto-Germanic *sw?raz (“heavy”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“heavy”).

Cognate with West Frisian swier (“heavy”), Dutch zwaar (“heavy, hard, difficult”), German schwer (“heavy, hard, difficult”), Swedish svår (“heavy, hard, severe”), Latin s?rius (“earnest, grave, solemn, serious”) and Albanian varrë (“wound, plague”).

Alternative forms

• sweer, sweir, swere

Adjective

swear (comparative swearer or more swear, superlative swearest or most swear)

1. (Britain dialectal) Heavy.
2. (Britain dialectal) Top-heavy; too high.
3. (Britain dialectal) Dull; heavy; lazy; slow; reluctant; unwilling.
4. (Britain dialectal) Niggardly.
5. (Britain dialectal) A lazy time; a short rest during working hours (especially field labour); a siesta.

Derived terms

Verb

swear (third-person singular simple present swears, present participle swearing, simple past and past participle sweared)

1. (Britain dialectal) To be lazy; rest for a short while during working hours.

References

• swear at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• resaw, sawer, sware, wares, wears

English

Etymology

From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin pr?test?r?, present active infinitive of pr?testor, from pr? + testor, from testis (“witness”).

Pronunciation

Noun

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p???.t?st/
• (US) enPR: pr??t?st, IPA^(key): /?p?o?.t?st/
• Hyphenation: pro?test

Verb

• enPR: pr?.t?st?, IPA^(key): /p???t?st/
• Rhymes: -?st
• Hyphenation: pro?test

Verb

protest (third-person singular simple present protests, present participle protesting, simple past and past participle protested)

1. (intransitive) To make a strong objection.
2. (transitive) To affirm (something).
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

     Our youth, now, emboldened with his success, resolved to push the matter farther, and ventured even to beg her recommendation of him to her father's service; protesting that he thought him one of the honestest fellows in the country, and extremely well qualified for the place of a gamekeeper, which luckily then happened to be vacant.

   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, Ch.8

     She flashed a smile at me, and, protesting an engagement with her dentist, jauntily walked on.

3. (transitive, chiefly Canada, US) To object to.

4. To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation; to appeal to.
5. (law, transitive) to make a solemn written declaration, in due form, on behalf of the holder, against all parties liable for any loss or damage to be sustained by non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill or note). This should be made by a notary public, whose seal it is the usual practice to affix.
6. (obsolete, transitive) To publish; to make known.

Translations

Noun

protest (countable and uncountable, plural protests)

1. A formal objection, especially one by a group.

2. A collective gesture of disapproval; a demonstration.

3. The noting by a notary public of an unpaid or unaccepted bill.
4. A written declaration, usually by the master of a ship, stating the circumstances attending loss or damage of ship or cargo, etc.

Synonyms

• dissent
• objection
• protestation

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Potters, potters, spotter, strepto, strepto-

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?prot?st]

Noun

protest m

1. protest

Related terms

• protestní
• protestovat
• protestant
• protestantismus
• protestantský
• protestantství

Further reading

• protest in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• protest in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French [Term?], from Old French [Term?], from Latin protest?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pro??t?st/
• Hyphenation: pro?test
• Rhymes: -?st

Noun

protest n (plural protesten, diminutive protestje n)

1. protest (occasion to express dissatisfaction)
2. protest (expression of disagreement)

Hyponyms

• betoging
• demonstratie

Derived terms

Related terms

• protestant
• protesteren

Descendants

• Afrikaans: protes

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin protestari, as for protestere

Noun

protest m (definite singular protesten, indefinite plural protester, definite plural protestene)

1. a protest

Derived terms

• protestmarsj

Related terms

• protestere

References

• “protest” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin protestari

Noun

protest m (definite singular protesten, indefinite plural protestar, definite plural protestane)

1. a protest

Derived terms

• protestmarsj

References

• “protest” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

From German Protest, from Italian protesto, from Latin pr?test?r?, present active infinitive of pr?testor, from pr? + testor, from testis (“witness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pr?.t?st/

Noun

protest m inan

1. (law) protest (formal objection)
2. protest (demonstration)

Declension

Synonyms

• demonstracja

Related terms

• protestant, protestantka
• protestowa?, zaprotestowa?

Further reading

• protest in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• protest in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Back-formation from protesta

Noun

protest n (plural proteste)

1. protest

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From German Protest.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pr?test/
• Hyphenation: pro?test

Noun

pròtest m (Cyrillic spelling ????????)

1. protest

Declension

Synonyms

• pròsvjed

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

protest c

1. protest

Declension

Related terms

• protestera
• protestant

Anagrams

• torpets

Welsh

Etymology

From English protest.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pr?t?sd/, [?pr???t??st]

Noun

protest f (plural protestiadau or protestadau)

1. protest, demonstration (collective gesture of disapproval)

   Synonym: gwrthdystiad

Derived terms

• protestio (“to protest”)

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “protest”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies