testimony

English

Alternative forms

• testimonie (obsolete)

Etymology

PIE word
*tréyes

Inherited from Middle English testimonie, from Old French testimonie, from Latin testimōnium (“testimony”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛstɪmoʊni/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛstɪməni/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

testimony (countable and uncountable, plural testimonies)

1. (law) Statements made by a witness in court.

   Synonym: deposition

   • 2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The Missouri prosecutors' case against Clemons, based partly on incriminating testimony given by his co-defendants, was that Clemons was part of a group of four youths who accosted the sisters on the Chain of Rocks Bridge one dark night in April 1991.

2. An account of first-hand experience.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

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

3. (religion) In a church service (or religious service), a personal account, such as one's conversion, testimony of faith, or life testimony.
4. Witness; evidence; proof of some fact.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 6:11:

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

Derived terms

• compel testimony

Related terms

• test
• testify
• testimonial

Translations

statement in court

• Arabic: شَهَادَة (ar) f (šahāda), إِفَادَة (ar) f (ʔifāda)

  Egyptian Arabic: شهادة f (šihāda)

• Armenian: ցուցմունք (hy) (cʻucʻmunkʻ)
• Azerbaijani: şahid ifadəsi, ifadə (az)
• Belarusian: паказа́нне n (pakazánnje)
• Bulgarian: показа́ние (bg) n (pokazánie)
• Catalan: testimoniatge m, testimoni (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 證言／证言 (zh) (zhèngyán), 證詞／证词 (zh) (zhèngcí)

• Czech: svědectví (cs) n
• Danish: vidnesbyrd (da) n
• Dutch: getuigenis (nl) n or f
• Estonian: tunnistus
• Finnish: todistajanlausunto (fi)
• French: témoignage (fr) m
• Galician: testemuño (gl) m
• Georgian: ჩვენება (čveneba)
• German: Zeugnis (de) n, Zeugenaussage (de) f, Aussage (de) f, Testimonium n (obsolete)
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍄𐍅𐍉𐌳𐌴𐌹 f (weitwōdei)
• Greek: κατάθεση (el) f (katáthesi)
• Hebrew: עדות \ עֵדוּת (he) f (edút)
• Hindi: गवाही (hi) f (gavāhī)
• Hungarian: tanúvallomás (hu), vallomás (hu)
• Indonesian: kesaksian (id), keterangan (id)
• Irish: fianaise f
• Italian: testimonianza (it) f
• Japanese: 証言 (ja) (しょうげん, shōgen)
• Korean: 증언 (jeung'eon)
• Latin: testimōnium n
• Low German:

  German Low German: Tüügnis n

• Malay: testimoni
• Maori: taunaki
• Moroccan Amazigh: ⵜⴰⴳⴳⴰ f (tagga)
• Norman: têmoignage m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forklaring (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: forklaring f, forklåring f

• Old English: ġewitnes f
• Ottoman Turkish: شهادت (şehadet), شاهدلك (şâhidlik), طانقلق (tanıklık)
• Persian: شهادت (fa) (šahâdat), گواهی (fa) (govâhi)
• Polish: zeznanie (pl) m
• Portuguese: testemunho (pt) m
• Romanian: depoziție (ro) f, declarație (ro) f, depoziție scrisă f
• Russian: показа́ние (ru) n (pokazánije)
• Scottish Gaelic: fianais f
• Serbo-Croatian: svjedočánstvo (sh) n
• Slovak: výpoveď f, svedectvo n
• Spanish: testimonio (es) m
• Swedish: vittnesmål (sv) n
• Thai: ปากคำ (th) (bpàak-kam)
• Turkish: ifade (tr)
• Ukrainian: показа́ння n (pokazánnja)
• Vietnamese: chứng cớ (vi), chứng cứ (vi), bằng chứng (vi)
• Walloon: temognaedje (wa) m

account of first-hand experience

• Armenian: վկայություն (hy) (vkayutʻyun)
• Belarusian: све́дчанне n (svjédčannje)
• Bulgarian: свиде́телство (bg) n (svidételstvo)
• Czech: svědectví (cs) n
• Dutch: getuigenis (nl) f or n
• Finnish: todistajanlausunto (fi)
• French: témoignage (fr) m
• Greek: μαρτυρία (el) f (martyría), δήλωση (el) f (dílosi)

  Ancient: μαρτυρία f (marturía)

• Hungarian: tanúskodás (hu)
• Irish: fianaise f
• Latin: testimōnium n
• Moroccan Amazigh: ⵜⴰⴳⴳⴰ f (tagga)
• Old English: ġewitnes f
• Ottoman Turkish: شهادت (şehadet), شاهدلك (şâhidlik), طانقلق (tanıklık)
• Polish: zeznanie (pl) m, świadectwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: testemunho (pt) m
• Romanian: mărturie (ro) f
• Russian: свиде́тельство (ru) n (svidételʹstvo)
• Scottish Gaelic: fianais f
• Serbo-Croatian: svjedočánstvo (sh) n
• Spanish: testimonio (es) m
• Telugu: సాక్ష్యం (te) (sākṣyaṁ)
• Ukrainian: сві́дчення (uk) n (svídčennja)
• Walloon: temognaedje (wa) m

personal account of conversion

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 證言／证言 (zh) sg (zhèngyán)

• Finnish: todistus (fi)
• French: témoignage (fr) m
• German: Zeugnis (de) n, Glaubenszeugnis n (faith), Lebenszeugnis n (life)
• Hungarian: tanúságtétel (hu)
• Portuguese: testemunho (pt) m
• Spanish: testimonio (es) m

witness; evidence; proof of some fact

• Bulgarian: свидетелство (bg) n (svidetelstvo)
• Danish: bevis (da) n
• French: témoignage (fr) m
• German: Zeugnis (de) n, Beweis (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: μαρτύριον n (martúrion)

• Hungarian: tanúság (hu), tanúbizonyság (hu), bizonyság (hu), jel (hu), tanújel (hu)
• Japanese: 証拠 (ja), 物証 (ja), 目撃 (ja), 論証 (ja), 証 (ja)
• Latin: testimōnium n
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bevis (no) n

  Nynorsk: bevis n

• Plautdietsch: Bewiess m
• Portuguese: testemunho (pt) m
• Spanish: testimonio (es) m
• Swahili: ushuhuda
• Swedish: bevis (sv) n

Further reading

• “testimony”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “testimony”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.