word is bond
STRONG EVIDENCE evidence grade — master store (canonical CSV)
Combined Graph record U-00637 · provenance: canonical master store (CSV), record CTL-W-0236. Master record source: CTL seed 2026-10-16 — UNVERIFIED, verify before public citation.
A Way with Words, 'My Word is Born' (fetched in full): Geneva Smitherman connects 'word is born' as a corruption of 'your word is your bond,' used throughout African-American history to say 'I trust you'; Clarence Major traces variations of 'word / word up / word is bond' to at least the 1950s; Smitherman ties popularization to the Five Percent Nation (formed 1964). Supports stored gloss 'a solemn promise' in substance.
Answer summary · this record in brief, from its own record text
A Way with Words, 'My Word is Born' (fetched in full): Geneva Smitherman connects 'word is born' as a corruption of 'your word is your bond,' used throughout African-American history to say 'I trust you'; Clarence Major traces variations of 'word / word up / word is bond' to at least the 1950s; Smitherman ties popularization to the Five Percent Nation (formed 1964). Supports stored gloss 'a solemn promise' in substance.
The record
- Also known as: my word is my bond
- Work type: phrase
Sources
- https://waywordradio.org/my-word-is-born/ (verification source · master store)
Evidence note (master store)
A Way with Words, 'My Word is Born' (fetched in full): Geneva Smitherman connects 'word is born' as a corruption of 'your word is your bond,' used throughout African-American history to say 'I trust you'; Clarence Major traces variations of 'word / word up / word is bond' to at least the 1950s; Smitherman ties popularization to the Five Percent Nation (formed 1964). Supports stored gloss 'a solemn promise' in substance.
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Record CTL-W-0236 · Combined Graph record U-00637 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 1 source.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.
Cite this record
Chicago: CultureTechLens. “word is bond (CTL-W-0236).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0236/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). word is bond (CTL-W-0236) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Combined Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0236/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “word is bond (CTL-W-0236).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0236/
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