What does vower mean?
Vower is a rare noun meaning a person who makes a vow or solemn promise, especially someone who swears an oath. It survives chiefly in Scottish usage and in older English, where it can sound formal or antiquarian rather than everyday. In modern English, saying that someone is a vower usually implies that the person has undertaken a binding obligation or given their word. The word should not be confused with vow itself: the vow is the promise, while the vower is the person who makes it. Vower is also occasionally useful in writing because it compresses into a single word what would otherwise require a phrase such as “one who takes an oath.” Because it is uncommon, however, it is most likely to be encountered in literary, historical, or dialectal contexts, and speakers using it should expect some listeners to need the surrounding sentence to grasp it. Its unusual form and its direct association with solemn promises make it a memorable example of an agent noun built transparently from a familiar verb.
nounA person who makes a vow or solemn promise, especially someone who swears an oath.
- A person who makes a vow or solemn promise, especially one who swears an oath.
"The chronicle describes him as a vower who pledged to defend the settlement."
"The chronicle calls him a vower who pledged to defend the settlement."
"Each vower repeated the oath before the elders."
The regular plural is vowers, though the word itself is rare.
"The two vowers pledged to keep the settlement's peace."
A vower is not the vow itself—it is the person who makes one.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vower
Vower is an English and Scots agent noun formed from vow with the suffix -er. The word vow is historically connected with Latin votum, meaning a vow or prayer, through Anglo-French. The same Latin root underlies vote and votive and also appears in avow.
Related word forms
How vower is actually used
This is an uncommon word found chiefly in Scottish usage, older English, and antiquarian or literary writing. It may sound solemn or archaic in a modern context.