“One thing you can give and still keep is your word”

“One thing you can give and still keep is your word” is a proverb/riddle that has appeared in many collections of sayings. The proverb can be used in politics and in business, where trust is important. “One thing you can give and still keep is your word” has been cited in print since at least April 1943 and is of unknown authorship.
 
     
23 April 1943, Daily Herald (Chicago, IL), “What A Little Bird Told Me” by Bobbie White, pg. 26, col. 4:
One thing you can give and still keep is your word.
 
Google News Archive
3 September 1943, Lewiston (ID) Morning Tribune, pg. 3, col. 5:
One good thing you can give and still keep is your word.
(Station COD Broadcasting Wavelength 195—ed.)
 
23 October 1943, New Castle (PA) News,  “Hints and Dints,” pg. 4, col. 3:
One good thing you can give and still keep is your word.
 
7 January 1949, Edwardsville (IL) Intelligencer, “Office Cat” by Junius, pg. 4, col. 5:
One thing you can give away and still keep is your word.
 
Google Books
14,000 Quips & Quotes:
For speakers, writers, editors, preachers, and teachers
Edited by E. C. McKenzie
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House
1990, ©1980
Pg. 562:
One thing you can give and still keep is your word.
 
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners:
Over 10,000 Gems of Wit and Wisdom, One-liners and Wisecracks
By Geoff Tibballs
New York, NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers
2004
Pg. 265:
One thing you can give and still keep is your word.
     
Philosiblog
Posted on 17 July 2012
One thing you can give and still keep is your word. - Unknown
What does that mean?
This quote would make an excellent riddle, worthy even of the Sphinx. But the focus of this quote is on the giving of your word. This is an important thing in most cultures, and is part of the social bond of trust between the members of the society.