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témoigner

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Etymology and origin of the French word témoigner

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1135 Couronnement de Louis More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin testimonium

Pronunciation

  • /te.mwa.ɲe/[1]

Forms

témoigner[1] Old French tesmoignier, tesmoingnier and testemoignier; the spelling témoigner is from the 17th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French tesmoignier, from Old French tesmoing, the old form of témoin.[2][4][1] The noun goes back to Latin testimōnium (“testimony”).[5][1]

Old French also had testemoignier (1119) and testemoniier, formed on testemonie, a borrowing of the Latin noun;[2] the Grand Robert gives testimonier “to bear witness against” from 1120.[6] Littré derives the verb from Late Latin testimōniō (“to testify”) and compares Walloon temoignî, Old Occitan testimoniar, Portuguese testemunhar and Italian testimoniare.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1135 the Couronnement de Louis uses tesmoignier intransitively, “to bear witness, declare”: com j'oï tesmoignier “as I heard told”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Of a thing it meant “to indicate, make known” from Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval (1174–87), l'estoire ensi le tesmoingne,[2][4] whence “to be the sign of” (1580, Montaigne).[2][4] The legal sense, “to testify in court”, is recorded at Tournai in 1247,[2][4] and the general sense “reveal what one knows” stayed common into the 17th and 18th centuries.[4]

Témoigner que and témoigner de with an infinitive, “to certify, declare”, appear in the 16th century (Calvin, 1541, Montaigne, 1580).[4][3] With a personal subject it came to mean “to show” a feeling or quality about 1590 (Montaigne, tesmoigner plus de courage).[2][4] Témoigner de “to bear witness to”, with a thing as subject, is first quoted from Littré in 1863.[2]

Timeline

  • 11th century – The form testimoinent appears in the Laws of William.[7]
  • 1119 – Philippe de Thaon uses testemoignier.[2]
  • c. 1135 – Tesmoignier in the Couronnement de Louis.[2][4]
  • c. 1170 – Chrétien de Troyes has tesmoingnier de in Erec.[2]
  • 1174–87 – Used of a thing, “to make known”, in Perceval.[2]
  • 1247 – A Tournai document uses it for testifying in court.[2]
  • 1541 – Calvin writes tesmoigner que.[3]
  • c. 1590 – Montaigne uses it for showing a quality or feeling.[2]
  • 1863 – Littré uses témoigner de with a thing as subject.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To attest or certify that one has seen or heard something: il a témoigné qu'il était présent.[8][9][1]
  2. (intransitive) To testify, to give evidence as a witness, especially in court;[9][7][1] témoigner en faveur de or contre someone.[9][7][1]
  3. (transitive) To show or express a feeling: témoigner sa reconnaissance à quelqu'un.[8][2]
  4. (literary, of things) To be the sign or proof of something: ce détail témoigne qu'il était pressé.[8][2]
  5. Témoigner de: to bear witness to, to show: ces ruines témoignent d'une ancienne ville.[7][2]

Word family

  • témoignage

Usage notes

Littré reports that, according to Chifflet's grammar, the first e was pronounced open, a remnant of the s of tesmoigner.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Témoigner.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/t%C3%A9moigner. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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