Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Betrothal.
  • noun One's pledged fidelity.
  • noun Good faith; fidelity.
  • transitive verb To pledge or betroth.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To plight; betroth.
  • noun Truth; verity: as, in troth (a phrase used interjectionally, and often colloquially reduced to troth).
  • noun Faith; fidelity: as, to pledge or plight one's troth.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Belief; faith; fidelity.
  • noun Truth; verity; veracity.
  • noun Betrothal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun archaic an oath, promise, or pledge
  • noun specifically, a promise or pledge to marry someone
  • noun the state of being thus pledged ; betrothal, engagement

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mutual promise to marry
  • noun a solemn pledge of fidelity

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English trouthe, trothe, variant of treuthe, from Old English trēowth, truth; see deru- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English trouthe, trowthe, variant of treouthe, treuthe, from Old English trēowþ, trīewþ ("truth, veracity; faith, fidelity; pledge, covenant"), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō (“promise, contract”), equivalent to true +‎ -th. More at truth.

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Examples

  • ‘My troth is pledged,’ said the bandit; ‘I can never betray him in whose veins my own blood is flowing.’

    A Review of 'Alroy' 1833

  • ‘My troth is pledged,’ said the bandit; ‘I can never betray him in whose veins my own blood is flowing.’

    Chapter 3 - Part IV 1822

  • But my kinsmen have had other plans for a year, and when the suggestion was made that I might be included in the Bargain, they made sword troth for me at once.

    Year of the Unicorn Norton, Andre 1965

  • "By my troth, that is Sir Guy of Gisborne's horn," quoth the Sheriff;

    Robin Hood 1917

  • But the ring with which her mother and grandmother plighted their troth was the ring with which they were wedded, and when Chamisso wrote _Du Ring an meinem Finger_ he was not writing of diamonds.

    Home Life in Germany Alfred Sidgwick 1894

  • By my troth, that is good blood to have in one's veins!

    The Thrall of Leif the Lucky 1893

  • I recalled my troth, plighted earlier, before I had ever seen her, -- my faith, pledged in another world.

    The Way of a Man Emerson Hough 1890

  • Or if 'troth' is archaic, and conveys little meaning to us; suppose we substitute a somewhat longer word, of the same meaning, and say, 'His faithfulness shall be thy shield.'

    Expositions of Holy Scripture Psalms Alexander Maclaren 1868

  • Things are very fluid and anything still can happen but, for what is worth, my bet is that we will see Conservatives and Liberals plight some kind of troth in the next day or two.

    the latest from teenvogue.com 2010

  • DiMarzio took to the radio airwaves to compare same-sex marriage to the pledging one's troth to a dog.

    Michele Somerville: Bishop To Same-Sex Marriage Supporters: Your Money's No Good Here Michele Somerville 2011

Comments

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  • I am wise for myself: then tell me, of troth,

    Is not that great wisdom, as the world go'th?

    Some philosophers in the street go ragged and torn,

    And feed on vile roots, whom boys laugh to scorn;

    But I in fine silks haunt Dionysius' palace,

    Wherein with dainty fare myself I do solace.

    - Richard Edwardes, 'Damon and Pithias', 1571.

    October 24, 2008