svära

• svärja, ſwaͤrja

From Old Swedish sværia, from Old Norse sverja, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *swer-.

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svära (present svär, preterite svor, supine svurit, imperative svär)

1. to swear, to curse; to use offensive language
   • 1996, Drängarna [The Farmhands], “Kung över ängarna [King of [over] the Meadows]”, in Fint vettö [vettu] [Nice Y'know]‎^[1]:

     Jag lägger mig i gräset ner. Ligger still och bara ler. Slumrar till och snarkar tyst. Drömmer om en kvinnas byst. Då ser jag nån som emot mig går, liderlig med utsläppt hår. Hon är vacker som en dag. I samma stund så vaknar jag. Svär [bit hard to make out the S] ett tag men tänker sen: Hon kommer nog till mig inatt igen. Ännu lyser solen stark i skog och mark.

     I lie down in the grass ["Jag lägger mig ner i gräset" is the usual word order. Ner (“down”) can be skipped]. [I] lie still and just grin [or smile]. [I] dooze off and snore quietly. [I] dream of a woman's bosom. Then I see someone walking towards me ["Då ser jag nån som går emot mig" is the usual word order], lustful [in an unrestrained manner – old-fashioned – often used to imply "lecherous," but also more generally] with her hair let down [with out-released hair]. She is pretty as a picture ["beautiful as a day" – idiom]. At that moment [in the same moment] I wake up. [I] swear for a bit but then [I] think: She will probably come to me tonight again ["Igen inatt" is a more common word order in Swedish as well]. The sun still shines bright ["yet shines (V2 word order) the sun strong" – could be translated as "still the sun shines bright" to match, but sounds less awkward in Swedish] in woods and fields ["forest and (wild) land" – idiomatic]. [Could also be put in the present continuous. Matches the intuition in Swedish with the [I]s. See the usage notes for -r.]

2. to take an oath
3. to promise that something is true, as by taking an oath on it

• insvära
• svärord
• svordom

• svära in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• svära in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• svära in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• ärvas