forswear

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The Word of the Day for August 16 is:

forswear   \for-SWAIR\   verb 
      1 : to make a liar of (oneself) under or as if under oath 
      2 a : to reject or renounce under oath *b : to renounce earnestly 
      3 : to deny under oath 

Example sentence: 
     Lizette had always enjoyed riding her bike to work, but after her third 
accident, she forswore bicycle riding in the city and purchased a subway pass. 

Did you know? 
     "Forswear" (which is also sometimes spelled "foreswear") is the modern 
English equivalent of the Old English "forswerian." It can suggest denial 
("[Thou] would'st forswear thy own hand and seal" -- John Arbuthnot, _John 
Bull_) or perjury ("Is it the interest of any man . . . to lie, forswear 
himself, indulge hatred, seek desperate revenge, or do murder?" -- Charles 
Dickens, _American Notes_). But in current use, it most often has to do with 
giving something up, as in "the warring parties agreed to forswear violence" 
and "she refused to forswear her principles." The word "abjure" is often used 
as a synonym of "forswear," though with less emphasis on the suggestion of 
perjury or betrayal of the beliefs that one holds dear.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.