The story
Ellipsis of a full oath of the form "I swear by God that …".
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
by God
Today it means: Used as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement. Full definition →
Today it means: Used as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement. Full definition →
Ellipsis of a full oath of the form "I swear by God that …".
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.