testify English · revision 16179

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1377, Piers Plowman|origins=la testis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtɛstɪfaɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|testifien]],^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline) [[bor|la|testificor|t=to bear witness]] (late Latin [[m|la-lat|testificō|alt=testificāre]]),^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|testis|t=a witness]]^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and [[m|la|-ficō|t=-making]], from [[m|la|faciō|t=to make, do]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Skeat 1911) with Barnhart positing a lost adjective [[m|la|*testificus|t=making a witness]].^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline routes it through [[xno|testifier]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To bear witness, intransitively, in ''[[Piers Plowman]]'' (B text, 1377);^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) transitively, to affirm the truth of something, from 1393 in the C text.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of things, to serve as evidence of something, is recorded from 1445 (about 1400 in Etymonline).^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Tyndale's Bible (1526) brought in the religious senses, to profess openly one's faith and to declare solemnly,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) the second now obsolete except in biblical use;^(OED 2026) A noun ''testify'', a certificate, appears once in Scots in 1600.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1377 – to bear witness.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1393 – to affirm the truth of.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1445 – of things, to serve as evidence.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1526 – to profess or declare solemnly, in Tyndale.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1785 – to bear testimony (intransitive, in Cowper).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a statement under [[oath]] as a [[witness]], especially in [[court]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To serve as [[evidence]] or proof of something.^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To declare one's belief publicly, especially one's religious faith.^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[testification]]

+ * [[testifier]]

+ * [[retestify]]

+ * [[untestifying]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[attest]]

+ * [[testimony]]

+ * [[testimonial]]

+ * [[testament]]

+ * [[contest]]

+ * [[protest]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}