"oathlet" meaning in English

See oathlet in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: oathlets [plural]
Etymology: From oath + -let. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|oath|let}} oath + -let Head templates: {{en-noun}} oathlet (plural oathlets)
  1. (dated) A minced oath. Tags: dated
    Sense id: en-oathlet-en-noun-QlwXBAnF Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -let, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 90 10 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -let: 85 15 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 93 7 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 96 4
  2. (nonce word) A pledge or promise that does not carry the full level of commitment of an oath. Tags: nonce-word
    Sense id: en-oathlet-en-noun-Fa40-Gkn

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "oath",
        "3": "let"
      },
      "expansion": "oath + -let",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From oath + -let.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "oathlets",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "oathlet (plural oathlets)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "90 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "85 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -let",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "93 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "96 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1847, Thomas Campbell, Samuel Carter Hall, Edward Bulwer Lytton Baron Lytton, New Monthly Magazine - Volume 79, page 162:",
          "text": "The visitors were prepared with a meek, uncomplaining, expected fourpenny fee to the janitor; no murmur, no half-vented oathlet at a verger, no smothered blessing—in italics—of the dean and chapter, but the hush-money was held out with a perfect quiet, as though it was indeed hushed by the breathing silence of the cathedral itself!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1901, Richard Grant White, Histories and poems, page 275:",
          "text": "cock and pie: an obsolete oathlet, in which \"cock\" may be a corruption of God, and \"pie\" the Romish mass-book; but the reference may be merely to a cock and a magpie, which were coupled on tavern signs.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908, Henry Norman Hudson, Romeo and Juliet, page 117:",
          "text": "Afore me is a mild protestation, — a sort of oath, or oathlet.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A minced oath."
      ],
      "id": "en-oathlet-en-noun-QlwXBAnF",
      "links": [
        [
          "minced oath",
          "minced oath"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated) A minced oath."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2000, Clifton Fadiman, Andre Bernard, Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes:",
          "text": "At his restoration \"fat Louis\" was fully and sympathetically aware of his subjects' need to let bygones be bygones. The elderly M. de Barentin was stumblingly explaining to Louis how it was that he had not — strictly speaking —in actual fact — sworn an oath of allegiance to Napoleon Bonaparte. “I quite understand,” Louis broke in.“At our age one only does things by halves. You didn't swear an oath to Bonaparte, you swore an oathlet.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pledge or promise that does not carry the full level of commitment of an oath."
      ],
      "id": "en-oathlet-en-noun-Fa40-Gkn",
      "links": [
        [
          "pledge",
          "pledge"
        ],
        [
          "promise",
          "promise"
        ],
        [
          "oath",
          "oath"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(nonce word) A pledge or promise that does not carry the full level of commitment of an oath."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nonce-word"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "oathlet"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -let",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "oath",
        "3": "let"
      },
      "expansion": "oath + -let",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From oath + -let.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "oathlets",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "oathlet (plural oathlets)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dated terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1847, Thomas Campbell, Samuel Carter Hall, Edward Bulwer Lytton Baron Lytton, New Monthly Magazine - Volume 79, page 162:",
          "text": "The visitors were prepared with a meek, uncomplaining, expected fourpenny fee to the janitor; no murmur, no half-vented oathlet at a verger, no smothered blessing—in italics—of the dean and chapter, but the hush-money was held out with a perfect quiet, as though it was indeed hushed by the breathing silence of the cathedral itself!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1901, Richard Grant White, Histories and poems, page 275:",
          "text": "cock and pie: an obsolete oathlet, in which \"cock\" may be a corruption of God, and \"pie\" the Romish mass-book; but the reference may be merely to a cock and a magpie, which were coupled on tavern signs.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908, Henry Norman Hudson, Romeo and Juliet, page 117:",
          "text": "Afore me is a mild protestation, — a sort of oath, or oathlet.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A minced oath."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "minced oath",
          "minced oath"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated) A minced oath."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English nonce terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2000, Clifton Fadiman, Andre Bernard, Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes:",
          "text": "At his restoration \"fat Louis\" was fully and sympathetically aware of his subjects' need to let bygones be bygones. The elderly M. de Barentin was stumblingly explaining to Louis how it was that he had not — strictly speaking —in actual fact — sworn an oath of allegiance to Napoleon Bonaparte. “I quite understand,” Louis broke in.“At our age one only does things by halves. You didn't swear an oath to Bonaparte, you swore an oathlet.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pledge or promise that does not carry the full level of commitment of an oath."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pledge",
          "pledge"
        ],
        [
          "promise",
          "promise"
        ],
        [
          "oath",
          "oath"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(nonce word) A pledge or promise that does not carry the full level of commitment of an oath."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nonce-word"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "oathlet"
}

Download raw JSONL data for oathlet meaning in English (2.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-02 using wiktextract (f90d964 and 9dbd323). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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