testament

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtɛs.tə.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Latin testamentum (“a last will”), from testārī, to make a will, bear witness, from testis, witness,^[2][3][4] generally taken to be from *tri-st-i-, a third person standing by, from the root of three, meaning a disinterested witness.^[3][2] In Christian Latin testamentum also translated Greek διαθήκη (diathḗkē, “covenant; will”).^[5][6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A last will disposing of property: about 1290 in Barnhart, the late 13th century in Etymonline; the OED's first quotation is from 1306.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Because Greek diathēkē meant both covenant and will, Late Latin testamentum confused the two;^[3] in English the covenant between God and mankind is found from the early 14th century (before 1300 in the OED),^[3][7] and the word was then understood as Christ's last will.^[3] The two divisions of the Bible are called testaments from the 13th century.^[4] A figurative bequest is from about 1400,^[7] and in Scots law, from 1526, a testament is the writing that names an executor.^[7] The sense of tangible proof or evidence, as in a testament to his skill, is a modern extension.^[8][9]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – a last will.^[2]
• before 1300 – a covenant between God and humankind.^[7]
• c. 1400 – figurative use.^[7]
• 1526 – a testament in Scots law.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something that serves as clear proof or evidence: a testament to her courage.
2. A statement of beliefs; a creed.
3. (law) A will disposing of a person's property after death.
4. Either of the two main parts of the Bible, the Old and the New Testament.
5. A covenant between God and humankind.

Word family

• testamentary
• New Testament
• Old Testament

Related words

• intestate
• testate
• testator
• testify
• testimonial
• testimony
• attest
• protest
• contest

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins