testimonial

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English testimonial, borrowed from Old French testimonial, a learned variant of tesmoignal,^[2][3][4][5] and directly borrowed from Late Latin testimōniālis (“of evidence”),^{[2][3][6][7][8][9]} from Latin testimōnium (“witness, evidence”).^[6][7][2] The Shorter Oxford derives the Old French form from tesmoin (“witness”), modern témoin.^[10] The Latin noun is from testis (“a witness”) and the suffix -monium, the source of testimony.^[3] The adjective was first used above all in the phrase “letters testimonial”, which follows Old French lettres testimoniaulx, recorded from the 13th century, and Late Latin litterae testimōniālēs (“credentials”), literally letters serving as evidence.^[2][3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, in lettres testimonyalx, documents attesting to someone's degree or good standing: 1421, in the Rolls of Parliament, in a statute requiring physicians to hold such letters.^[4] The OED's first quotation is from the Rolls of Parliament of 1425.^[2] As a noun, an affidavit or a statement, it is recorded from 1446.^[4] Etymonline dates both the adjective and the noun to the early 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the noun meant an affidavit or deposition, a statement or declaration, and something that serves as a guarantee or a text declaring someone's worth.^[4] The Middle English Dictionary has it in the translation of Higden's Polychronicon in the sense "testimony, witness", citing "the testimonialle of Boice" on Parmenides.^[4] In the sense of a written character reference, recorded from 1571, the noun is short for letters testimonial or letter of testimony.^[3][2] Johnson (1755) defined it as a writing someone produces as evidence for himself.^[11] The sense "gift presented to someone as a mark of appreciation", originally colloquial, is recorded from 1838, in Lord Cockburn's journal.^[3][2] In modern use a testimonial is also a celebrity's or customer's endorsement of a product,^[7][12] and in British sport a match played to raise money for a particular player.^[12] The older senses "evidence, proof" and "a token, record" died out around 1800,^[2] and the adjective in its original sense is now archaic or technical.^[2]

Timeline

• 1421 – adjective, in letters testimonial, credentials.^[4] The OED's first quotation is from 1425.^[2]
• c. 1430 – adjective, of the nature of testimony, serving as evidence (Lydgate).^[2]
• 1446 – noun, an affidavit or statement.^[4]
• 1461 – noun, an official certificate attesting to something (Paston Letters).^[2][4]
• before 1475 – noun, evidence, testimony (obsolete by 1707).^[2][4]
• 1495 – noun, a token or proof of something (obsolete by 1803).^[2]
• 1571 – a written statement of someone's qualifications and character.^[2]
• 1838 – a gift presented as a mark of appreciation.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A statement recommending a person's character and abilities, usually written by an employer or another responsible person: She took three testimonials to the interview.^[12][2]
2. An endorsement of a product or service, often from a celebrity or a satisfied customer, used in advertising.^[7][12]
3. A tribute or gift given to someone in recognition of services or achievements.^[12][2][7]
4. (British) A sports match held to raise money for a particular player.^[12]
5. Something that serves as evidence or proof of something: The packed hall was a testimonial to her popularity.^[7][2]
6. A formal statement of truth or fact; a certificate or affidavit.^[12][7][2]

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or serving as testimony.^[12][7][2]
2. Expressing appreciation or esteem: a testimonial lunch for the retiring principal.^[7]

Word family

• testimonialize

Related words

• testify
• testimony
• testament
• attest
• contest
• protest

Usage notes

Collins notes that testimonial is sometimes wrongly used where testimony is meant.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins