bear false witness

[ bair fawls wit-nis ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

idiom

knowingly state as fact that which is untrue; begin or perpetuate a rumor by lying about a person, thing, or event:
They collaborated to bear false witness against the innocent financial officer, which effectively ended his career.
knowingly give untrue testimony, as in a court of law; commit perjury:
When she bore false witness on the stand by lying about seeing Jones at the crime scene, did she not realize what the penalty for perjury is?

First recorded in 1350–1400

Evidently he also believes in the nine commandments, discarding the one that says “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”

In it there is throughout a suppressio veri, a suggestio falsi, and scarcely a page that does not bear false witness.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy comrades but preserve a strict neutrality on his outgoings and his incomings.

Do not many of us bear false witness against the Gospel on this very point?

Whoever shall appear in this Court and bear false witness, be he the noblest in the land, he shall lose his head.

Such people, with the best intentions, honestly bear false witness.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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