What does by the rood mean?

by the rood

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English

Scrabble Score

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Unique Chars

prep_phrase

Archaic

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

swear on swear upon

swear on swear upon

How to pronounce by the rood

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