Emily Dickinson Lexicon

VOW, n. [Fr. vœu; It. voto; L. votum, from voveo, to vow; probably a contracted word.]

1. A solemn promise made to God, or by a pagan to his deity. The Roman generals when they went to war, sometimes made a vow that they would build a temple to some favor deity, if he would give them victory. A vow is a promise of something to be given or done hereafter. A person is constituted a religious by taking three vows, of chastity, of poverty, and of obedience. Among the Israelites, the vows of children were not binding, unless ratified by the express or tacit consent of their father. Numb. xxx.
2. A solemn promise; as, the vows of unchangeable love and fidelity. In a moral and religious sense, vows are promises to God, as they appeal to God to witness their sincerity and the violation of them is a most heinous offense.