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Reference.org
Oath
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<p>Traditionally, an oath is a <a href="/facts/Utterance/LJLCwKDS">statement</a> of <a href="/facts/Fact/vNPzHxtf">fact</a> or a <a href="/facts/Promise/mSsvK6Pb">promise</a> taken by a <a href="/facts/Sacred/TFqpyxkc">sacrality</a> as a sign of <a href="/facts/Truth/NyQmBtUC">verity</a>. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths is to give an <a href="/facts/Affirmation_(law)/fYjYSNwN">affirmation</a> instead. Nowadays, even when there is no notion of sanctity involved, certain promises said out loud in ceremonial or juridical purpose are referred to as oaths. "To swear" is a <a href="/facts/Verb/zp42buvn">verb</a> used to describe the taking of an oath; to make a solemn <a href="/facts/Vow/TTuNkhuu">vow</a>. </p>