witness English · revision 4710

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 950|origins=en wit, en -ness}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈwɪt.nəs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|witnesse]], [[inh|ang|witnes|t=knowledge; testimony; a witness]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) formed from [[wit]] and [[-ness]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Compare Old High German giwiznessi and Old Norse vitni.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Knowledge, understanding (now obsolete), testimony or evidence, and one who gives evidence: about 950 in the OED and Barnhart, in the Lindisfarne Gospels.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English gewitnes glosses Latin testimonium in Ælfric.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person present at a transaction so as to testify to it is from before 995.^(OED 1989) Something that serves as evidence, as in ''as witness'', is from before 1325, in Cursor Mundi.^(Barnhart 1988) In Christian use (late 14th century) it translates Greek martys, the source of [[martyr]].^(Etymonline) The verb, to bear witness to, is from about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) to sign a document to confirm it from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and to see something happen from 1582.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The courtroom ''witness stand'' is from 1853.^(Etymonline) In Scotland a witness was formerly a sponsor at a baptism.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – knowledge; testimony; one who testifies.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 995 – one present to attest a transaction.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – verb, to testify.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – to sign as a witness.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – Christian witness.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1582 – to see, observe.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1853 – ''witness stand''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who sees an event and can describe it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who gives [[evidence]] in a [[court]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who signs a document to confirm that another person's signature is genuine.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Evidence or proof: ''bear witness to''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A public statement of religious faith.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To see an event happen.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To sign a document as a witness.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To be the time or place of an event: ''the 1990s witnessed great changes''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[witnesser]]

+ * [[witnessable]]

+ * [[eyewitness]]

+ * [[earwitness]]

+ * [[character witness]]

+ * [[expert witness]]

+ * [[Jehovah's witness]]

+ * [[witness box]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wit]]

+ * [[wise]]

+ * [[martyr]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}