promise

Etymology

From Middle English promis, promisse, borrowed from Old French promesse, from Medieval Latin prōmissa, Latin prōmissum (“a promise”), feminine and neuter of promissus, past participle of prōmittō (“I send or put forth, let go forward, say beforehand, promise”), from pro (“forth”) + mittere (“to send”); see mission. Compare admit, commit, permit, etc. Displaced native Old English ġehātan (“to promise”) and ġehāt (“a promise”).

noun

1. (countable) an oath or affirmation; a vow
   if I make a promise, I always stick to it; he broke his promise
2. (countable) A transaction between two persons whereby the first person undertakes in the future to render some service or gift to the second person or devotes something valuable now and here to his use.
   He purſued Andrew Houſtoun upon his promiſe, to give him the like Sallary for the next year, and in abſence obtained him to be holden as confeſt and Decerned. 1668 July 3rd, James Dalrymple, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), pages 547–548
3. (uncountable) Reason to expect improvement or success; potential.
   The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess
   She shows great promise as an actress.
4. (countable, computing, programming) A placeholder object representing the eventual result of an asynchronous operation.
5. (countable, obsolete) bestowal or fulfillment of what is promised

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To commit to (some action or outcome), or to assure (a person) of such commitment; to make an oath or vow.
   "You think that I'll take anything." "I know you will, sweet." … "There wasn't going to be any of that. You promised there wouldn't be." "Well, there is now," she said sweetly. 1936 Aug., Ernest Hemingway, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", Cosmopolitan
   Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today. 2013-06-22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70
   If you promise not to tell anyone, I will let you have this cake for free.
   She promised to never return to this town again.
   He promised me a big kiss if I would drive him to the airport.
   I can't promise success, but I'll do the best I can.
2. (intransitive) To give grounds for expectation, especially of something good.
   The clouds promise rain.