vow

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /vaʊ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like wow /v/ vs /w/ Sounds like bough /v/ vs /b/

Freq #6746

Meanings

1

noun
A serious, solemn promise.

They exchanged wedding vows in front of their families.
2

verb
To make a serious promise to do something.

She vowed to finish the novel by the end of the year.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms vowedvowingvows

Derived forms break-vow

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Vows made in storms are forgotten in calms

Simplified etymology

Vow, recorded in Middle English, comes from the Latin family of votum, “a vow” or “wish,” and vovere, “to vow.” The same family produced vote, votive, devout, and devotion.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English vowe, voue, that from Old French vut, in turn from Latin vōtum (“a promise, dedication, vow”), from vovēre (“to promise, vow”). Not related to avow. Doublet of vote.

*h₁wegʷʰ- Proto-Indo-European vowe Middle English vut Old French vōtum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# vow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /vaʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 6746

## Meanings
1. A serious, solemn promise.
2. To make a serious promise to do something.

## Examples
- They exchanged wedding vows in front of their families.
- She vowed to finish the novel by the end of the year.

## Derived Forms
- break-vow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₁wegʷʰ-
- Root: vowe
- Root: vut
- Root: vōtum

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English vowe, voue, that from Old French vut, in turn from Latin vōtum (“a promise, dedication, vow”), from vovēre (“to promise, vow”). Not related to avow. Doublet of vote.

## AI Etymology
Vow is inherited from Middle English vowe, voue, that from Old French vut, in turn from Latin vōtum (“a promise, dedication, vow”), from vovēre (“to promise, vow”). Not related to avow. Doublet of vote. Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *h₁wegʷʰ-, Middle English vowe, Old French vut, and Latin vōtum. In present-day use, it can mean a serious, solemn promise, or to make a serious promise to do something. Derived formations include break-vow.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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vow