testimony - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tes·ti·mo·ny

Audio Help [tes-tuh-moh-nee, or, especially Brit., -muh-nee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -nies.

1.	Law. the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court.

2.	evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof.

3.	open declaration or profession, as of faith.

4.	Usually, testimonies. the precepts of God.

5.	the Decalogue as inscribed on the two tables of the law, or the ark in which the tables were kept. Ex. 16:34; 25:16.

6.	Archaic. a declaration of disapproval; protest.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L testimōnium, equiv. to testi(s) witness + -mōnium -mony

]

—Synonyms 1. deposition, attestation. See evidence. 2. corroboration. 3. affirmation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
testimony

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tes·ti·mo·ny Audio Help (těs'tə-mō'nē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. tes·ti·mo·nies

1. A declaration by a witness under oath, as that given before a court or deliberative body.
2. All such declarations, spoken or written, offered in a legal case or deliberative hearing.
3. The stone tablets inscribed with the Law of Moses.
4. The ark containing these tablets.
Evidence in support of a fact or assertion; proof.
A public declaration regarding a religious experience.
1. The stone tablets inscribed with the Law of Moses.
2. The ark containing these tablets.

[Middle English, from Old French testimonie, from Latin testimōnium, from testis, witness; see testify.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
testimony

1382, "the Ten Commandments," from L.L. testimonium (Vulgate), along with Gk. to martyrion (Septuagint), translations of Heb. 'eduth "attestation, testimony" (of the Decalogue), from 'ed "witness." Meaning "evidence, statement of a witness" first recorded 1432, from O.Fr. testimonie (11c.), from L. testimonium "evidence, proof, testimony," from testis "witness" (see testament) + -monium, suffix signifying "action, state, condition."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

testimony
noun
1.	a solemn statement made under oath
2.	an assertion offering firsthand authentication of a fact; "according to his own testimony he can't do it"
3.	something that serves as evidence; "his effort was testimony to his devotion"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
testimony [ˈtestiməni] noun — plural ˈtestimonies

the statement(s) made by a person or people who testify in a law-court; evidence
Example: The jury listened to his testimony.

Arabic:	شَهادَه
Chinese (Simplified):	证词
Chinese (Traditional):	證詞
Czech:	svědectví
Danish:	vidneudsagn
Dutch:	getuigenis
Estonian:	tunnistus
Finnish:	todistajanlausunto
French:	témoignage
German:	die Aussage
Greek:	μαρτυρία, κατάθεση
Hungarian:	(tanú)vallomás
Icelandic:	vitnisburður
Indonesian:	kesaksian
Italian:	testimonianza

Japanese:	証言
Latvian:	liecība (tiesā)
Lithuanian:	parodymas, liudijimas
Norwegian:	vitneforklaring; bevis
Polish:	zeznanie
Portuguese (Brazil):	testemunho
Portuguese (Portugal):	testemunho
Romanian:	mărturie
Russian:	свидетельские показания
Slovak:	svedectvo, výpoveď; dôkaz
Slovenian:	pričevanje
Spanish:	testimonio
Swedish:	vittnesmål
Turkish:	tanıklık

See also: testimonial

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: tes·ti·mo·ny
Pronunciation: 'tes-t&-"mO-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -nies
Etymology: Latintestimonium, from testis witness
: evidence furnished by a witness under oath or affirmation and either orally or in an affidavit or deposition

former testimony
: testimony that a witness gives at a different proceeding (as another hearing or a deposition)
NOTE: Under Federal Rule of Evidence 804, former testimony is admissible as an exception tothe hearsay rule when the declarant is unavailable and if a predecessor in interest in a civil proceeding or the party against whom the testimony is offered had an opportunity and similar motive todevelop the testimony.

negative testimony
: testimony concerning what did not happen; especially : testimony concerning what one did not perceive <negativetestimony that the witness did not hear a train whistle>
NOTE: Negative testimony is sometimes accorded the same weight as positive testimony when the witness was in a position toperceive something and was eagerly attentive.

opinion testimony
: testimony relaying opinion as opposed to direct knowledge of the facts at issue
NOTE: Opinion testimonymay be allowed in evidence when it helps the factfinder understand or determine the facts at issue. Such testimony by a lay witness must be rationally based on his or her perception. A qualified expertwitness may also give opinion testimony. The expert's opinion may be based on facts or data that he or she perceives directly or of which he or she is made aware other than by direct perception at orbefore trial.

positive testimony
: testimony that presents an affirmative declaration of fact and is based on the personal knowledge of the testifier

reputationtestimony
: testimony concerning a person's reputation among associates or in the community —tes·ti·mo·ni·al /"tes-t&-'mO-nE-&l/ adjective —tes·ti·mo·ni·al·ly adverb

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Testimony

Proof\, n. [OF. prove, proeve, F. preuve, fr. L. proba, fr. probare to prove. See Prove.]

1. Any effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial.

For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof. --Spenser.

You shall have many proofs to show your skill. --Ford.

Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits was practiced, called the proof. --Ure.

2. That degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments that induce, or tend to induce, certainty of the judgment; conclusive evidence; demonstration.

I'll have some proof. --Shak.

It is no proof of a man's understanding to be able to confirm whatever he pleases. --Emerson.

Note: Properly speaking, proof is the effect or result of evidence, evidence is the medium of proof. Cf. Demonstration, 1.

3. The quality or state of having been proved or tried; firmness or hardness that resists impression, or does not yield to force; impenetrability of physical bodies.

4. Firmness of mind; stability not to be shaken.

5. (Print.) A trial impression, as from type, taken for correction or examination; -- called also proof sheet.

6. (Math.) A process for testing the accuracy of an operation performed. Cf. Prove, v. t., 5.

7. Armor of excellent or tried quality, and deemed impenetrable; properly, armor of proof. [Obs.] --Shak.

Artist's proof, a very early proof impression of an engraving, or the like; -- often distinguished by the artist's signature.

Proof reader, one who reads, and marks correction in, proofs. See def. 5, above.

Syn: Testimony; evidence; reason; argument; trial; demonstration. See Testimony.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Testimony

Tes"ti*mo*ny\, n.; pl. Testimonies. [L. testimonium, from testis a witness: cf. OF. testimoine, testemoine, testimonie. See Testify.]

1. A solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving some fact.

Note: Such declaration, in judicial proceedings, may be verbal or written, but must be under oath or affirmation.

2. Affirmation; declaration; as, these doctrines are supported by the uniform testimony of the fathers; the belief of past facts must depend on the evidence of human testimony, or the testimony of historians.

3. Open attestation; profession.

[Thou] for the testimony of truth, hast borne Universal reproach. --Milton.

4. Witness; evidence; proof of some fact.

When ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. --Mark vi. 11.

5. (Jewish Antiq.) The two tables of the law.

Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. --Ex. xxv. 16.

6. Hence, the whole divine revelation; the sacre? Scriptures.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. --Ps. xix. 7.

Syn: Proof; evidence; attestation; witness; affirmation; confirmation; averment.

Usage: Testimony, Proof, Evidence. Proof is the most familiar, and is used more frequently (though not exclusively) of facts and things which occur in the ordinary concerns of life. Evidence is a word of more dignity, and is more generally applied to that which is moral or intellectual; as, the evidences of Christianity, etc. Testimony is what is deposed to by a witness on oath or affirmation. When used figuratively or in a wider sense, the word testimony has still a reference to some living agent as its author, as when we speak of the testimony of conscience, or of doing a thing in testimony of our affection, etc. Testimony refers rather to the thing declared, evidence to its value or effect. "To conform our language more to common use, we ought to divide arguments into demonstrations, proofs, and probabilities; ba proofs, meaning such arguments from experience as leave no room for doubt or opposition." --Hume. "The evidence of sense is the first and highest kind of evidence of which human nature is capable." --Bp. Wilkins. "The proof of everything must be by the testimony of such as the parties produce." --Spenser.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Testimony

(1.) Witness or evidence (2 Thess. 1:10). (2.) The Scriptures, as the revelation of God's will (2 Kings 11:12; Ps. 19:7; 119:88; Isa. 8:16, 20). (3.) The altar raised by the Gadites and Reubenites (Josh. 22:10).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

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