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vow.
assent to a Paragraph in Wesley's xith Sermon on the
Witness of the Spirit.
1 6. A votive offering. Obs. rare.
i^ WvcuK Deul. xii. 6 (early MSS.), ^ee shul come &
offre in M place brent s.acrifise5, . . & vouwis & 5iftes. IS3S
CovERDALE IMd. j6n B1BI.E I Esdros vm. 58 The vessds
are holy, and the golde, and the siluer is a vowe vnlo the
Lord. i68« Burnet ie temple (ran, Als
J>ai voud had be-fom l>at sco was of hir moder born. 1338
R. Bbunne C/in;". (1810) 182, I vowe to S.iynt Michael..
pat for wo nc wele hil>en ne salle I fare..tille(>e c-vstelle be |
taken. 1390 Gower Conf. \. 144 That veine gloire I schal
eschuie, And bowe unto thin heste and suie Humilite, and
that I vowe. c 1470 Henrv Wallace vm. 47, I wow to
God, ..hesallnocht be In to this realme, bot ane off ws sail
de IS3S Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 418 Gif tha wald nocht,
he vowit tha sould half Siclike reward as he gaif all llie
laif. c 1570 Satir. Poems Reform, xiv. 88, I wow to the .
Thay sail not mys ane riche rewaird. 1596 Shaks. Mcrch.
V. IV. i. 442 She made me vow That I should neither sell,
nor giue, nor lose it- 1785 Burns Ep. to 7. Lapraik 21 Apr.
vi. Quoth I, ' Before I sleep a wink, I vow I'll close it '. 1838
Arnold Hist. Rome vii. 1. 118 Aulus. .vowed that he would
raise a temple to Castor and to Pollux, . .if they would aid
him to win the battle. 1859 Tennvson Enid 787, I vow d
that could I gain her, our fair Queen.. should make your
Enid burst Sunlikc from cloud.
b. Willi infinitive.
1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 2804 ?yf l>ou vowe to do
foly..God wyl nat l>ou hold yt so pat Jjou |>y vowe jn
wykkednes do. 14.. Langlnnds P. PI. B. v, 388 (Oriel
MS.), panne gan gloton grete, and greet deel made .
. , And
vowede to faste. 1500-20 Dunbar Poems Ixii. 19 "To that
conditioun. .That 50 had vowit to the Swan, Ane 5eir to be
Johne Thomsounis man. IS9« Dalrvmple tr. Leslie's Hist.
Scot. II. 13 "To God he had vowit, with ane armie to jnvade
the Saracenis gif he had lyfe. 1609 IJekker Gull's Horn-lik.
Proem. 2, I defie your perfumd scorne : and vow to poyson
your Muske cats, if their ciuet excrement doe but once
play with my nose. 1641 in loM Ref, Hist. MSS. Comm.
App. I. 78 Quhilk dyelt [of parliament] the Kinge hes
woued to keepe except siknesse or deathe previne it.
1653 Jer. Taylor Serm. for Year i. xiv. 189 He that
vows never to have an ill thought, never to commit an
error, hath taken a course [etc.]. a 17*8 Secker Lect.
XX. (1769) I. 328 Vowing to do what there is no Use in
doing, is trifling with our Creator. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe
Italian iii, He secretly >i^wed to defend her fame and protect
her peace at the sacrifice of every other consideration.
1849 JAMF.S Woodman ii, I do not recollect having vowed
not to tell any secular persons. 1891 Farrar Dnrkn. \
Da:vn xli. Some Greek . . named Hippolytus, who had vowed
to live a virgin life for Diana.
o. With direct object.
1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 2825 Eueyl he vowed, and
swore hys oth, per.for with hym ys now god wroth, a 1500
Ratis Raving, elc. 57s He..bydis man kep Weill gif he
ocht wowis I5»6 Pil^r. Perf. iW. deW. 1531) 1 Lyfe . . is
as a pilgrymage, whiche we vowe and promessc in our
baplym. 1599 VVeever Epigr. iv. xxii. E vj, Their sugred
tongues. .Say they are Sainis. . For thousands vowes to them
subjecliue dulie. 1611 Speed Hist. Ct. Brit. vii. ii. 285/1
Such as hauing vowed their voiage and seruice for Jerusalem,
wore..vpon their backes a red Crosse. 1651 Hobbes
Leviath. l. xiv. 69 They that Vow any thing contrary to
any law of Nature, Vow in vain. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII.
325/1 With solemn Curses and Imprecations upon them,
selves and Posterities, whoshould detract any of the Tyihes
50 vowed and granted. 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Jnstr.
174 He speaks not of such as have vowed Chastity, but of
other Christians. 1791 Cowper Iliad xxiii. 247 Then,
Peleus' son. .two Winds in prayer. -invoked.., to each
Vowing large sacrifice. 1819 Scott Noble Moringer ii,
•Tis I have vow'd a pilgrimage unto a di.'.tant shrine. 1828
Lytton Pelham II. xx, I fancied a perfection in her, and
vowed an emulation in myself, which it was reserved for
Time to ratify or deride. 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's
Hist. Ten Y. II. 483 The whole French soul vowed from
that moment the capture of Constantina,
d. With cognate object.
a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxxi. 2 Vow he vowed til god
of iacob. 1382 Wyclif fudges xi. 30 Passynge to the sones
of Amon,be vowede a vowe to the Lorde. 153SC0VERDALE
Num. vi. 2 To vowe a vowe of abstinence vnto the Lorde.
x6oi Shaks. Alts Well iv. ii. 22 'Tis not the many oathes
320
that makes the truth But the plaine single vow, that is vow'd
true, a 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Wit Without Money iv. iv, Vow
me no vowes, he that dares do this, has bred himself to boldness,
to forswear too. a 1711 Ken Div. Love Wl;s. (1838)
274 Whenever I voluntarily vow a vow to thee, give me
grace to vow with all the due caution I can. 1808 Scott
Marmioii v. xxvii, For weal of those they love, To pr.-iy the
prayer, and vow the vow. 1829 — A nne of G.x, Overwhelming
the priests witli the wealth which they showered
upon them, and, finally, vowing vows, and making pilgrim,
ages. 1867 Tennvson Holy Grail 584 Yet we twain Had
never kiss'd a kiss, or vow'd a vow.
2. To dedicate, consecrate, or devote to some
person or service. (Cf. Avow v."^ 2.)
1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 98 b, [They] hath vowed
all theyr lyues to god and to his holy seruyce. 1582 Stanv-
HURST ^Kn'iii. (Arb.)66 A tumb to Troyloune and mouldy
leinpil aneereth Vowed to the godly Ceres. 1596 Danett
tr. Comines (1614) 204 He tooke vpon him his voiage to S.
Claude, to whom as you haue heard he was vowed. 1613
R. Harcourt Voy. to Guiana 47 Captaine Haruey,..who
hath nobly vowed his time and fortune to bee imployed in
the prosecution of this honourable action. 1697 Dryden
Mneid vm. 796 The first inhabitants, of Grecian blood.
That sacred forest 10 Silvanus vowed. 1725 Pope Odyss. xi.
25 1'he victims, vow'd to each Tartarean pow'r, Eurylochus
and Perimedes bore. 1813 Scott Rokcby iv. xiv, Connanmore,
who vowed his race, For ever to the fight and chase.
1843 WoRDSW. Inscr. Mon. Crosthwaite Ch. 16 He to
heaven was vowed Through his induslrious life. 1896 A.
Austin Eng. Darling I. i, Virgins vowed to Heaven, Virgins
as white as is the Vule-lide snow.
transf 1579 E. K. in Sfenser's Slieph. Cal. June, Argt.,
This yfeglogue is wholly vowed to the complayning of
Colins ill successe in his loue.
b. reji. Also const, into.
c 1500 Melusiue 292 Vryan & Guyon entred in to the see,
& vowed themself to Jherusalem. 1581 G. Pettie tr.
Guazzo's Civ. Conv.U^fifi) I. 8 b, Manie,..from theirstatclie
pallaccs, haue vowed themselues to beggerlie Monasteries.
1592 in J. Morris Troub. Cath. Forefathers (1877) 38 Mr,
Kdward James, .having vowed himself into the Society \sc.
the Jesuits]. 1602 Fulbecke 1st Pt. Parall. 95 They have
denied Christ and vowed themselues to Ihe diuell. 1623
CocKERAM III, Decii, three Roman Captaines, . . who vowed
themselues for their countrie. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. St
Coinium. 476 Some will lay 20, thirty or forty rubbles into
the Caback, vowing themselves to the pot, till the stock be
spent. 1826 ScoTT Talisman ix. My safety, my lord,.. I
cast behind me as a regardless thing when 1 vowed myself
to this enterprise.
+ c. To dedicate by a ceremony. Obs.~'^
1600 Holland Litiy, etc. 1355 The temple. .w.ts called
Capitolinum ; and Tarquinius Prisons vowed it.
3. To make a solemn resolve or threat to inflict
(injury), exact (vengeance), harbour (hatred), etc.
1592 KvD Sp. Trag. iv. i. 31 M,-iy it be that Bel-imperial
Vowes such reuenge as she hath daind to say! 'ziS93
Marlowe & Nashe Dido v. ii, Tell him, I never vow'd at
Aulis' Gulf The desolation of his native Troy. 1606 Shaks.
Tr. 4- Cr. v. V. 31 Great Achilles Is arming, weeping, cursing,
vowing vengeance. 1623 in Foster Eng. Factories
/ndiaUgog) III. 105 Thay both then voued reven^ if I cam
in their power. X726 Swift Gulliver l. v. The Empress.
could not forbear vowing revenge. 1839 tr. Lamartine's
Trav. East 49/1 In spile of the profound haired which I
had vowed to the pacha, I could not embrace the cause of
the French. 1912 A. McCormick Wordsfr. Wild- Wood ii.
43 In vain did he protest and vow vengeance upon his
rebellious subjects.
4. intr. To make a vow or solemn undertaking
to bind oneself by a vow.
a 1325 Prose Psalter lxxv[i]. 1 1 Vowel> and 3elde}> to l>e
Lord, your God, je alle hat bringe jiftes in his cumpas.
1382 Wvci.lF Prov. XX. 25 Falling is of men ofte to vouwe
to seinlis, and aftir the vouwis a^een drawe. 1560 Bible
Eccl. v. 4 It is better that thou shuldest not vowe, then that
thou shuldest vowe and not paye it. 1603 Shaks. Meas.for
M. I. iv, 10 You are yet vnsworne: When you haue vowd,
you must not speake with men. But in the presence of the
Prioresse. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. xiv. 69 They that Vow
any thing contrary to any law of Nature, Vow in vain.
1675 Owen Indwelling Sin xvii. (1732) 237 Knowing no other
way to morlifie Sin, but this of vowing against it. c 1710 in
Lady M. W. Alontagu's Lett. (1887) II. 3, 1 had better not
vow, for I shall certainly love you, do what you will. 1782
Brown Vieiu Nat. ^ Rev. Religion vi. iii. 608 They were
J.
capable to vow for themselves. i8ia Crabbe Tales \i. 250
Sheanswer'd,-.'I have not vow'd against the holy stale".
1867 Tennyson Holy Grail ijo Because the hall was all in
tumult—some Vowing, and some protesting.
Vo'wr, v."^ Also 4 vouwe, 4, 6 vowe, 6 Sc.
wow. [Ajihetic f. Avow v^ In sense 2 sometimes
not clearly distinguishable from Vow vy\
1 1. trans. To acknowledge, admit. Obs.
'
1338 R. Brunne C//rou tonon )»t lyues,"
said R. ' pou \read pi] cheue ne bowe, pi lond men salle
gife lille one hat may it vowe '. c 15S0 A. Scott Poems vi.
38, 1 dar not preiss hir to present it, Ffor be scho wreth I will
not wow it.
2. To affirm or assert solemnly ; to asseverate, to
declare. (Cf. Avow v.'^ 4.)
c 1330 Amis