by the rood

prepositional phrase

Used as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement; equivalent to "I swear on Christ's cross."

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. archaicUsed as an oath to emphasize the veracity of an associated statement; equivalent to "I swear on Christ's cross."

    Gertrude. Have you forgot me? Hamlet. No, by the rood, not so!

    c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]
    2 more examples

    Sim[on]. I pray thee tell me now, coulde such a shrow as thou, Content thy selfe with such a sheepe as I, how sayst thou now? Sus[an]. A sheepe, nay by the Roode, I rather would haue guest you, more a Hog like, then a sheepe […]

    1577, Nicholas Breton, The Workes of a Young Wyt, London: Thomas Dawson and Thomas Gardyner

    By the rood! if I had my will upon ye, I should nail you upon the abbey doors, as they hang vermin before their holes.

    1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, chapter 9, in The White Company, New York, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.: Thomas Y[oung] Crowell & Company […], →OCLC
Cite this entry
APA

by the rood. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20the%20rood

MLA

“by the rood.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20the%20rood. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “by the rood,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20the%20rood.

Source: by the rood on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.