different between voice vs swear

English

Alternative forms

• voyce (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /v??s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Etymology 1

From Middle English voice, voys, vois, borrowed from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice, Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin v?cem, accusative form of v?x (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *w?k?s, root noun from *wek?- (“to utter, speak”). Cognate with Sanskrit ???? (v?c), Ancient Greek ?? (óps), Persian ????? (âvâz). Displaced native Middle English steven (“voice”), from Old English stefn (see steven). Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, epic, vocal, vouch, vowel. Doublet of vox.

Noun

voice (plural voices)

1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character
2. (phonetics) Sound made through vibration of the vocal cords; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in whispering and voiceless consonants.
3. The tone or sound emitted by an object
   • 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy

     O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart Leaps at the trumpet’s voice.

4. The faculty or power of utterance

5. That which is communicated; message; meaning.
   • 17th century, John Fell, unknown work

     Let us call on God in the voice of his church.

6. An expressed opinion, choice, will, desire, or wish; the right or ability to make such expression or to have it considered
   • 1697, John Dryden, Aeneid

     Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice / Of holy senates, and elect by voice.

   • Like many of the 7 million other first time voters, she came of age during half a decade of military rule that has governed the country since former general turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a 2014 coup. "We have had our voice taken away for five years," she says.

7. (archaic) Command; precept.
8. One who speaks; a speaker.
   • 1849, Alfred Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H.

     A potent voice of Parliament.

9. (literature) A particular style or way of writing that expresses a certain tone or feeling.
10. (grammar) A particular way of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
11. (music) In harmony, an independent vocal or instrumental part in a piece of composition.

12. (Internet, IRC) A flag associated with a user on a channel, determining whether or not they can send messages to the channel.

Synonyms

• (sound of human speech): steven, reard
• (opinion): steven, vote, say-so
• (voice of verbs): diathesis, gender (of verbs), grammatical voice, verbal voice

Derived terms

Translations

See voice/translations § Noun.

Etymology 2

From Middle English voysen, voicen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

voice (third-person singular simple present voices, present participle voicing, simple past and past participle voiced)

1. (transitive) To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce
   • 1893, Annie Wood Besant, An Autobiography

     How often he would voice his love of England, his admiration of her Parliament, his pride in her history.

   • 1612, Francis Bacon, Of Great Place

     Rather assume thy right in silence and […] then voice it with claims and challenges.

   • 1622, Francis Bacon, History of the Reign of King Henry VII

     It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet.

2. (transitive, phonology) To utter audibly, with tone and not just breath.
3. (transitive) To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of

4. (transitive, obsolete) To vote; to elect; to appoint
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To clamor; to cry out
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of South to this entry?)
6. (transitive, Internet, IRC) To assign the voice flag to a user on IRC, permitting them to send messages to the channel.
7. (television, film) To act as a voice actor to portray a character.

Related terms

Translations

See voice/translations § Verb.

Middle English

Noun

voice

1. Alternative form of voys

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