▪ I. covenant, n.
(ˈkʌvɪnənt)
Forms: α. 4 coue- nante, -ande, -onde(e, kouenand, 4–5 coue- naund(e, 4–6 -and, -aunt(e, 5 -awnt(e, 3–7 couenant, 7– covenant. β. 3 conuenant, 4 -and, 6 -ent. γ. 4 conant, connande, cuunand, Sc. cwnnand, 4–6 conand(e, Sc. cunnand(e, 5 cunaunt, connownt, cownand, Sc. connand. (4 ? cuuaunt, kuuant, 5 covande, -aunde: perh. error of u, v, for n.) δ. 5 comnawnt, cumnawnte.
[a. OF. covenant (12–15th c. in Littré), later convenant, n. use of covenant, convenant adj., orig. pa. pple. of convenir to agree: see covenable, and cf. the development of forms there.]
1. A mutual agreement between two or more persons to do or refrain from doing certain acts; a compact, contract, bargain; sometimes, the undertaking, pledge, or promise of one of the parties. Phrases, to make or enter into a c.; to hold, keep, break c. (No longer in ordinary use, exc. when coloured by legal or theological associations.)
| α a 1300 Cursor M. 7484 (Cott.) Sir King, he said, hald me couenand. c 1315 Shoreham 64 Hit is wykked condicioun, Covenaunt of schrewead-hede. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 859 Haue I nat holden couenant vnto thee. c 1400 Destr. Troy 999 Ne he keppid no couenaund to þe kynd maydon. c 1477 Caxton Jason 77 b, They made couenaunt that they sholde sle him. 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Solemn. Matrimonie, So these persons may surely perfourme and kepe the vowe and couenaunt betwixt them made. 1611 Bible Gen. xxi. 27 And Abraham tooke sheepe and oxen, and gaue them vnto Abimelech: and both of them made a couenant [1535 Coverdale bond together]. 1644 Direct. Publ. Worship in Scobell Acts & Ord. i. li. (1658) 87 Who are now to be joyned in the Honourable estate of Marriage, the Covenant of their God. 1643 Caryl Sacr. Covt. 7 A Covenant..is more than a promise, and lesse than a Oath. 1781 Cowper Conversation 684 Bad men, profaning friendship's hallowed name, Form, in its stead, a covenant of shame. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. 17 He had entered into a covenant for mutual support with forty of the king's other slaves. |
| β 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3722 Al þat lond By certeyn conuenant was in Kyng Artures hond. a 1300 Cursor M. 2352 (Cott.) Our lauerd him held treu conuenand. 1546 Lyndesay Tragedy 327 Haistelie my conuenent I brak. |
| γ c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 57 Suane..to þat conant him bond. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 753 The cunnand on this wyss was maid. a 1400–50 Alexander 5543 He [Alexander] makis a conand with his kniȝtis. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1345 To Bruce sen syne he kepit na connand. 1483 Cath. Angl. 74 To breke Conande, depacisci..To make Conande, pacisci. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. Prol. 102 How mony crakyt cunnand? 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 166 b, Theyr eares also hath made a conuencyon or conande with reason. |
| δ c 1440 Promp. Parv. 108 Cumnawnte [v.rr. comnawnt, cunaunt], pactum, fedus, convencio. |
† b. to, on, upon, in, at (a or the) covenant: on a mutual stipulation, or understanding; on the condition
that.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 7637 (Cott.) If he wald His doghter wedde..To þe conuenand for to bring An hundreth hefds to þe king. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 2 Thu gaf man skil and insiht..To kouenand that he serue the riht. c 1400 Melayne 193 In that conande I yelde it the. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Theodera 237 One þat cunnande..I wil tel þe a thinge. c 1440 Ipomydon 696, I shall you telle, At this couenant wold I dwelle. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1700 On þe conand þat whils I leue Þou tell naman what I didd. 15.. Merchant & Son 80 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 138 On a covenaunt, fadur, y wyll, and ellys not. 1548 Hall Chron. 236 b, To conclude a truce..upon covenaunt, every man to have his awne. |
† 2. A promise made to oneself, a solemn personal resolve, a vow.
Obs.| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 688 Cleopatra, And in myn self this couenaunt made I tho, ffor ryght swich as ȝe feldyn wel or wo The same wolde I felen, life or dethe. |
† 3. Each of the points or terms of an agreement.
Obs. exc. as in 4 b.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 712 And swiftly he sware on þat shene god; All the couenaundes to kepe. c 1440 Ipomydon 711 Home they rode..And to the quene the covenantys seyd. 1584 D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 119 Certaine other couenants were agreed upon between them. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World iii. viii. §6 To make good the Covenants of the late concluded peace. |
4. Law. A formal agreement, convention, or promise of legal validity;
esp. in
Eng. Law, a promise or contract under seal. (The English equivalent of
Lat. conventio as technically used from the Norman Conquest onwards.)
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 260 Þe conantz þat wer sette..Kyng Philip has þam gette fro þat tyme hiderward. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2135 Ariadne, As ye han In this Covenaunt herd me rede. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxix. 240 It was sent to the court of rome..that the forsayd couenauntz shold be enbulled. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §100 G, An Instrument of Couenants therefore is a formal deed conteining an agreement of diuers persons. 1641 Termes de la Ley 91 b, Covenant is an Agreement made by Deed in writing, and sealed between two persons..if the one of them holdeth not his covenant but breaketh it, then hee which thereof feeleth himself grieved, shall have thereupon a Writ of covenant. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. Index s.v., Express and implied covenants defined. 1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 116 The lien of covenants usually contains introductory words, declaring the entent of the covenant. If there are several covenantors, it usually declares the covenant to be several, or joint, or joint and several. 1875 Digby Real Prop. vi. (1876) 294 A covenant to stand seised was where a person by deed agreed to stand seised to the use of some near relation—son, brother, nephew, or cousin. |
b. esp. A particular clause of agreement contained in a deed;
e.g. the ordinary covenants to pay rent, etc. in a lease.
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. i. iv. 155 Let there be couenants drawne between's. 1634 Milton Comus 682 You invert the covenants of her [nature's] trust. a 1720 Sheffield (Dk. Buckhm.) Wks. (1753) II. 103 The City granted the Lease at last..full of covenants so much to the City's advantage. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 304 After warranty usually follow covenants, or conventions; which are clauses of agreement contained in a deed. 1810 J. Marshall Const. Opin. (1839) 127 The suit was instituted on several covenants contained in a deed made by John Peck. 1872 R. B. Smyth Mining Statist. 97 Four new leases..were declared void for non-fulfilment of covenants. Mod. Are there any restrictive covenants on this property? |
† 5. The matter agreed upon between two parties, or undertaken or promised by either; hence, covenanted duty, service, wages, rent, etc.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 4990 (Cott.) Þe term es fourti dais sette Þat i o þam mi cuunand gette. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 561 Watz not a pené þy couenaunt þore? 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 153 (MS. C) Alle þat done her connande wel han dowble hyre for her trauaille. 1481 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 316 Euery prentes that..trewly seruethe his cownand. c 1485 Digby Myst. iii. 1803 Lo, here is all þi connownt, allredy þou xall it have. 1561 Becon Sick Man's Salve Wks. II. 244 Look well unto thy servants. Give them their covenants, and suffer them not to be idle. 1596 Spenser State Irel. (1633) 57 Exacting of them (besides his covenants) what he pleaseth. |
† 6. Pledge, security.
Obs. rare.
| 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 32 He who freely magnifies what hath been nobly done..gives ye the best cov'nant of his fidelity. |
7. Scripture. Applied
esp. to an engagement entered into by the Divine Being with some other being or persons.
[The
Heb. word
bĕrīth is also the ordinary term for a contract, agreement, alliance, or league between men. It is constantly rendered in the Septuagint by διαθήκη ‘disposition, distribution, arrangement’, which occurs in Aristophanes in the sense ‘convention, arrangement between parties’, but usually in
cl. Gr. meant ‘disposition by will, testament’. Accordingly, the Old Latin translation of the Bible (Itala) appears to have uniformly rendered διαθήκη by
testamentum, while Jerome translated the
Heb. by
fœdus and
pactum indifferently. Hence, in the Vulgate, the
O.T. has the old rendering
testamentum in the (Gallican) Psalter, but Jerome's renderings
fœdus,
pactum elsewhere; the
N.T. has always
testamentum. In English Wyclif strictly followed the Vulgate, rendering
fœdus,
pactum, by
boond,
covenaunt, rather indiscriminately,
testamentum in the Psalter and
N.T. always by
testament. So the versions of Rheims and Douay. The 16th c. English versions at length used
covenant entirely in
O.T. (including the Psalter), and Tindale introduced it into 6 places in the
N.T. These the Geneva extended to 23, and the Bible of 1611 to 22 (in 2 of which
Gen. had
testament), leaving
testament in 14 (in 3 of which
Gen. had
covenant). The Revised Version of 1881 has substituted
covenant in 12 of these, leaving
testament in 2 only (
Heb. ix. 16, 17).]
Thus
bĕrīth, διαθήκη,
fœdus (
pactum),
covenant are applied to God's engagement with Noah and his posterity,
Gen. vi. 18, ix. 9–17; to that made with Abraham and his posterity,
Gen. xvii, of which the token was circumcision; to the institution of the Mosaic Law,
Exod. xxiv. 7, 8, and to that law or its observance itself, whence the expressions
book of the covenant (
i.e. of the law),
ark of the covenant,
blood of the covenant (
i.e. of beasts ritually sacrificed),
land of the covenant (
= promised land, Canaan). The covenant with the Israelites, in its various phases, is commonly called the
Old Covenant, in contrast to which the prophets made promise of a
new covenant,
Jer. xxxi. 31; and this name καινὴ διαθήκη
New Covenant (
testament) was, according to
St. Luke xxii. 20, applied by Jesus to the new relation to man which God had established in Him. In this sense it is also used by
St. Paul and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who contrast these two covenants (
Gal. iv. 24,
Heb. viii. 13, ix. 15, etc.), also called by commentators the
Temporal and the
Eternal Covenant (
cf. Heb. xiii. 20).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1975 (Cott.) A couenand neu ic hight to þe, þou sal fra now mi rainbow see. Ibid. 2667 Hald ȝee þe couenand o þis wi[s] Do your knaue-barnes to circumces. 1382 Wyclif Jer. xxxi. 31 Y shal smyte to the hous of Irael and to the hous of Iuda newe pes couenaunt, not after the couenaunt that y couenauntede with ȝoure fadris [Heb. viii. 8, I schal ende a newe testament]. 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Heb. viii. 8, I shal make with the house of Israel and with the house of Iuda a new couenant [earlier versions testament]. 1611 Bible Ex. xxxiv. 28 And he wrote vpon the Tables the words of the couenant, the ten Commandements. ― Heb. viii. heading, And the temporall Couenant with the Fathers [is abolished] by the eternal Couenant of the Gospel. Ibid. xii. 24 The mediatour of the new Couenant [margin testament]. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 892 And makes a Covenant never to destroy The Earth again by flood. 1779 Cowper Olney Hymns, Oh, how I love thy holy word, Thy gracious covenant, O Lord! 1818 J. Benson Bible w. Notes, Heb. xiii. 20 The everlasting covenant—viz. the covenant of grace, in its last dispensation, termed everlasting. 1881 N. T. Luke xxii. 20 This cup is the new covenant [marg. testament] in my blood. |
b. Hence
covenant is sometimes used
= Dispensation.
| 1818 J. Benson Bible w. Notes, Rom. iii. 28 The faith by which men, under the New Covenant, are justified. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 587 The doctrine, that it was allowable for a man now, as well as under the old covenant, to have several wives. 1867 Bp. Forbes Expl. 39 Art. vii. (1881) 118 Another important instance of the connection between the old and the new covenant is Prophecy. |
c. The two divisions of the Scriptures, belonging to the Mosaic and Christian dispensations respectively, are sometimes called the
Books of the Old and the New Covenant, instead of the usual form O. and N. Testament (
Gr. παλαιὰ and καινὴ διαθήκη).
| 1587 Golding De Mornay xxxiii. 541 The Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles, all which together we call the newe Couenant or the newe Testament. 1796 Newcome (title), An attempt towards revising our English Translation of the Greek Scriptures or the new Covenant of Jesus Christ. |
d. (
Greater) Book of the Covenant,
Little Book of the C.: names given by
O.T. critics to certain portions of the Book of Exodus,
viz. ch. xx. 22– xxiii, and ch. xxxiv. 11– 26 respectively.
8. Theol. a. Covenant of Works,
Covenant of Grace: the two relations which are represented as subsisting between God and man, before and since the Fall.
The Covenant of Works (or
of Life) was made with Adam for himself and his posterity upon condition of obedience; the
Covenant of Grace (or
of Redemption) with ‘the Second Adam’ and with his elect in him, for their deliverance from the misery and penalty into which they had fallen through transgression of the covenant of works. The theology of the covenants, or Federal Theology, was first elaborated by Koch or Cocceius (1603–1669); and attained great vogue in the 17th c.,
esp. among the Puritans. It is prominently developed in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and its accompanying Catechisms.
| a 1640 J. Ball Covt. of Grace (1645) 8 The Covenant of workes, wherein God covenanteth with man to give him eternall life upon condition of perfect obedience in his own person. The Covenant of Grace, which God worketh with man promising eternal life upon condition of believing. 1643–7 Westm. Conf. Faith vii, Of Gods Covenant with Man. 1647 Assembly's Larger Catech. A. xxxi, The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and in him with all the elect as his seed. 1647 Shorter Catech. A. 12 When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience. 1654 Jer. Taylor 2nd Answ. Bp. Rochester, Only the covenant of works did God make with all men till Christ came: but he did never axact it after Adam. 1666 Bunyan Grace Ab. (1879) 351 Thus..was my Soul..tossed sometimes headlong into despair, sometimes upon the Covenant of Works. 1774 Fletcher Salv. by Grace Wks. 1795 IV. 30 An account of the two covenants, that God entered into with man. 1818 Scott Old Mort. viii, ‘Whilk Covenant is your honour meaning?—is it the Covenant of Works, or the Covenant of Grace?’ |
b. Applied to the engagement with God which is entered into by believers at their baptism, or admission into the visible church.
| 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 17 The covenand or condition maid in Baptyme. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxiv. §4 Baptism implieth a covenant or league between God and man. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 222 Yet have they not any..power to make them members of God's church (if they be not under the visible covenant). 1644 Direct. Publ. Worship in Scobell Acts & Ord. i. li. (1658) 84 To improve and make the right use of their Baptism; and of the Covenant sealed thereby betwixt God and their souls. 1786 Wesley Wks. (1872) IV. 325 That solemn service, the renewing of our covenant with God. 1821 Wordsw. Eccl. Sonn. iii. xxiii, On each head His lawn-robed Servant lays An apostolic hand, and with prayer seals The Covenant. 1827 Keble Chr. Year, 5th Sun. after Easter x, The covenant of our second birth. 1891 T. Mozley The Son xlviii. 306 Admitted to covenant with God, as in our Catechism all baptized persons are described as children of God. |
9. Eccl. a. Sc. Hist. The name given to certain bonds of agreement signed by the Scottish Presbyterians for the defence and furtherance of their religion and ecclesiastical polity.
The
National Covenant was signed at Edinburgh on 28 Feb. 1638 for the defence of Presbyterianism against the Episcopal system that had been introduced by James I and Charles I. The
Solemn League and Covenant was accepted by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 17 Aug. 1643, and by the Westminster Assembly of Divines, and English Parliament, on 25 Sept., as a league between England and Scotland on the basis of the establishment of Presbyterianism in both countries. It is to the latter especially that the name usually refers. It is sometimes given also to the Bonds subscribed at Edinburgh by the Lords of the Congregation and their followers on 3 Dec. 1557, and at Perth on 31 May 1559, the object of which was the carrying out of the Protestant Reformation.
| 1638 Duke of Hamilton in H. Papers (Camden) 11 If you uill not be content to admitt the Couenant to remaine, call a generall assemblie uher ye may expeckt the Bishopes to be limited. 1643 Solemn League & Covt., We Noblemen, Barons, Knights, Gentlemen, Citizens, Burgesses, Ministers of the Gospel and Commons of all sorts..after mature deliberation, resolv'd and determin'd to enter into a mutual and solemn League and Covenant. 1643 Evelyn Diary 23 July, The Covenant being pressed, I absented myselfe. 1650 Chas. II Oath in Hist. Chas. II (1660) 76, I Charles King of Great Britain France and Ireland, do assure and declare by my solemn Oath..my allowance and approbation of the National Covenant, and of the Solemn League and Covenant. 1661 Evelyn Diary 22 May, The Scotch Covenant was burnt by the common hangman in divers places in London. Oh prodigious change! 1677 Burnet Mem. Dks. of Hamilton 367 The 17th of August, the day in which the Covenant was first made, which from thence some used to call Saint Covenant's Day. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. III. liii. 139 The Earl of Argyle..had at last embraced the Covenant. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 213 Lauderdale had been conspicuous among the Scotch insurgents of 1638, and zealous for the covenant. |
b. Church Covenant: the formal agreement made and subscribed by the members of a Congregational Church in order to constitute themselves a distinct religious society. (An important feature of Congregational polity in New England.)
| c 1640 T. Hooker Ch. Discipline i. iv. (1648) 45 Of the Formall cause of a Visible Church, the Church Covenant. 1702 C. Mather Magn. Christi v. iv, Of the Form of the Visible Church, and of Church Covenants. |
10. attrib. and
Comb., as
covenant ark,
covenant blessings,
covenant charter,
covenant engagement,
covenant mercies,
covenant right,
covenant safety,
covenant-servant;
covenant-breaker,
covenant-closure ns.;
covenant-breaking,
covenant-ensuring,
covenant-keeping,
covenant-making adjs.;
covenant-wise adv.| 1871 Macduff Mem. Patmos xii. 167 The *covenant Ark..will rise buoyant on the waters. |
| 1836 E. Osler in Palmer Bk. of Praise (1874) 299 A milder seal than Abraham found Of *cov'nant blessings more Divine. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 108 *Cumnawnte brekere, fidifragus. 1534 Tindale Rom. i. 31 Covenaunte breakers, vnlovinge, truce-breakers. 1646 P. Bulkeley Gospel Covt. i. 48 He cannot be a covenant-breaker. |
| 1737 Waterland Eucharist 104 The Covenant, or rather, the *Covenant-Charter, was given soon after the Fall, to Mankind in general. |
| 1653 Baxter Peace Consc. Ep. Ded., Your hearts in their *Covenant-closure with Christ. |
| 1861–6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 290 Unless we perform it upon a *Covenant Engagement. |
| 1781 Cowper Hope 150 Bright as the *Covenant-ensuring bow. |
| 1685 J. Howe in H. Rogers Life ix. 231 To that blessed..and *covenant-keeping God. |
| 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 561 Sa fell off this *conand making. |
| c 1750 Wesley's Hymns (1831) Suppl. Hymns No. 748 And make the *cov'nant peace mine own. |
| 1660 Hist. Chas. II 83 Those hard *Covenant Pills which the Kirkmen made him swallow. |
| 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. III. 413 A *Covenant-right to the Promises of God. |
| 1871 Macduff Mem. Patmos xii. 168 Let us rejoice in this *covenant safety. |
| 1548 Udall Erasm. Paraphr., Luke 131 a, To liue as a *couenaunt seruaunt with so ryche..an housholder. |
| 1645 Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 76 An union *covenant-wise could never have been, except God had in a manner bowed to us. |
b. Special comb.
† covenant-head (
Theol.), one who enters into a covenant as a representative of others;
† covenant-man, a party to a covenant or contract; a covenanter;
† covenant-penny, earnest-money.
| 1758 S. Hayward Serm. 15 We did not commit it, but Adam; but it is so reckoned ours, upon our being included in him as our *covenant-head. 1769 Cruden Concordance (ed. 3) s.v. Covenant, Elect sinners, on whom grace and glory were settled for ever in Christ, their covenant-head. |
| 1540 Will of J. Smyth (Somerset Ho.), To euery of my Joreneymen & *Covenaunt-men. |
| 1581 Dees Diary (Camden) 11 Helen was hyred at our Lady Day for the yere..she had her *covenant penny. |
▸
covenant marriage n. U.S. a marriage based on one of several types of voluntary pre-nuptial contract (differing from state to state, and only available in some), which typically has provisions making divorce difficult, and often requires pre-marital counselling.
| 1990 Orlando Sentinel 17 Mar. a7/1 The..proposal would allow men and women who have signed an agreement and engaged in pre-marital counseling to enter into lifetime ‘*covenant marriages’. They could not get divorced unless one of the spouses committed adultery. 2000 P. A. Cain Rainbow Rights viii. 245 Louisiana has recently enacted a covenant marriage law as an alternative to the existing law, and other states, including Iowa, are considering such statutes. |
▪ II. covenant, v. (
ˈkʌvɪnənt)
Also 4–6
couenaunt, (4
pa. pple. y-couenaunt, 5
cumnawntyn, 6
comnaunt), 6
conuenant,
-aunt, 7
covnant.
[f. the n.: cf. covenance v.] 1. intr. To enter into a covenant or formal agreement; to agree formally or solemnly; to contract.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 108 Cumnawntyn, or make a cumnawnte, convenio, pango. 1536 in Thynne's Animadv. Introd. 28 John Wylkynson..hath convenanted and bargayned with Edmunde Pekham. 1596 Spenser State Irel. (1633) 57 The reason why the landlord will no longer covenant with him. 1611 Bible Matt. xxvi. 15 They couenanted with him for thirtie pieces of siluer. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Warres 666 They had jointly Covenanted against Foreign Dominion and Tyranny. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 562 A man cannot grant any thing to his wife, or enter into covenant with her: for..to covenant with her, would be only to covenant with himself. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. (1858) 185 Did I not pay them..the sum covenanted for? |
b. with
inf. or
clause, expressing purpose or purport.
| c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 38 A Carm me haþ y-couenaunt þe Crede me to teche. 1555 Eden Decades 140 They couenaunted with hym to paye yearely a hundreth pounde weyght of perles. 1645 Direct. Publ. Worship in Scobell Acts & Ord. i. li. (1658) 87, I M. do take thee N. to be my married Wife, and do..promise and covenant to be a loving and faithfull Husband unto thee. 1661 Bramhall Just Vind. vii. 182 The King of the Romans and Electors did covenant mutually to assist and defend one another. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 120 I had covenanted at Montruil to give him a new hat with a silver button and loop. 1819 Arnold in Stanley Life & Corr. (1844) I. ii. 59 Did you not covenant to write to me first? 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 552 An agreement by which the Company had covenanted to furnish a person named Colston with two hundred tons of saltpetre. |
2. trans. To agree or subscribe to by covenant; to agree formally to give or do (something).
| 1382 Wyclif Ex. xxxiv. 27 Thes wordes with which I haue couenauntide a boond of pees. c 1500 Melusine 155 Ye conuenaunted with me a yefte whiche I purpose now to take. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. (1812) I. ccccxlix. 794 These maryages were sworne and couenaunted. 1530 Palsgr. 503 s.v. That that I comnaunt with you shall be parfourmed. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. (1851) 22 The Tribute Covnanted to Belinus for his enlargement. 1849 Grote Hist. Greece ii. lxii. (1862) V. 374 Nothing is covenanted as to any remainder. 1861 Pearson Early & Mid. Ages Eng. 179 She refused to pay the witch who had assisted her the sum covenanted. |
3. To make it a condition or clause of an agreement, to stipulate. (with
obj. clause.)
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 153 b, The old husbandes in hiring of a shepehearde, did alwaies covenant among others, that he should be sound of body and limme. c 1592 Marlowe Massacre Paris ii. Wks. (Rtldg.) 234/1 With Poland, therefore, must I covenant thus, That if, etc. 1700 Congreve Way of World iv. v, Imprimis then, I covenant that your acquaintance be general..Item, I article that you continue to like your own face, as long as I shall. |
† 4. To take the Covenant: see
covenant n. 9.
| 1661 R. L'Estrange Interest Mistaken 25 Reverend Divines reduced to begge their Bread, because they would not Covenant. |
† 5. trans. to covenant out: to exclude or expel by covenant.
Obs.| 1661 Mercurius Caledonius 1 Mar., That laudable custom of suppers, which was covenanted out..is again in fashion. |
▪ III. † covenant, pa. pple. Obs. An occasional variant of
covenanted.
| c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 474 As it was couenaunt bitven ous tvo. 1583 Stubbs Anat. Abus. ii. 85 Hauing his monie that was couenant, is hee not bound..to teach them. |
▪ IV. † covenant, a. Obs. rare.
[a. OF. covenant, early form of convenant suiting, agreeing.] = covenable a. 4.
| c 1440 Bone Flor. 945 Let him goo, He semyth covenawnt and trewe. |