Old English 'a swearing against' — because in Germanic law, an answer was a solemn counter-oath to a formal charge.
A thing said, written, or done in reaction to a question, statement, or situation.
From Old English "andswaru" (a reply, response), composed of "and-" (against, back) + "swaru" (an affirmation), from the verb "andswarian" (to answer, respond). The Old English "and-" descends from Proto-Germanic *anda- (against, back, in return), itself from PIE *h₂ent- (front, forehead), which also gave rise to Latin "ante" (before) and Greek "anti" (against). The second element derives from Proto-Germanic *swarō, related to *swarjaną (to swear), from PIE *swer- (to speak, say solemnly). The original
An 'answer' is etymologically a 'counter-oath.' Old English 'andswaru' combines 'and-' (against) with '-swaru' (a swearing). In early Germanic legal culture, when a charge was made on oath, the accused responded with a formal counter-oath — an 'answer' in the original, solemn sense. The German cognate 'Antwort' preserves the 'ant-' (against) prefix, while the Scandinavian languages dropped it, keeping