Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To give testimony in a legal case or before a deliberative body.
  • intransitive verb To express or declare a strong belief, especially to make a declaration of faith.
  • intransitive verb To make a statement based on personal knowledge in support of an asserted fact; bear witness.
  • intransitive verb To serve as evidence.
  • intransitive verb To declare publicly; make known.
  • intransitive verb To state or affirm as testimony in a legal case or before a deliberative body.
  • intransitive verb To be evidence of.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To bear witness; make declaration, especially for the purpose of communicating to others a knowledge of some matter not known to them, or for the purpose of establishing some fact.
  • In law, to give testimony, under oath or solemn affirmation, in a cause depending before a court.
  • To serve as evidence; be testimony or proof.
  • To bear witness to; affirm or declare as fact or truth.
  • In law, to state or declare under oath or affirmation, as a witness, before a tribunal.
  • To give evidence of; evince; demonstrate; show.
  • To make known; publish or declare freely.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To make a solemn declaration, verbal or written, to establish some fact; to give testimony for the purpose of communicating to others a knowledge of something not known to them.
  • intransitive verb (Law) To make a solemn declaration under oath or affirmation, for the purpose of establishing, or making proof of, some fact to a court; to give testimony in a cause depending before a tribunal.
  • intransitive verb To declare a charge; to protest; to give information; to bear witness; -- with against.
  • transitive verb To bear witness to; to support the truth of by testimony; to affirm or declare solemny.
  • transitive verb (Law) To affirm or declare under oath or affirmation before a tribunal, in order to prove some fact.
  • adverb In a testy manner; fretfully; peevishly; with petulance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
  • verb to make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb give testimony in a court of law
  • verb provide evidence for

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English testifien, from Latin testificārī : testis, witness; see trei- in Indo-European roots + -ficārī, -fy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English testifien, from Old French testifier, from Latin testificārī, present active infinitive of testificor ("I bear witness"), from testis ("a witness") + facere ("to make") (see -fy).

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Examples

  • Having Cheney testify is truly pointless – he's made a career of lying and seems to be quite good at it.

    Cheney may be called to testify 2009

  • That, as many ex-girlfriends of mine will testify, is quite untrue.

    EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Nir Yaniv 2009

  • At an inquiry into the tasering death of amentally ill man in Nova Scotia, aclin­ical psychol­o­gist who has been called to testify is taking on the concept of “excited delirium”.

    hughstimson.org » Blog Archive » Taser Epistimology on Trial 2010

  • Now under pressure from congress, Luskin has completely backtracked, telling roll call, quote, 'Whether, when and about what a former White House official will testify is not for me or my client to decide but is part of an ongoing negotiation between the White House and congress over executive privilege issues.'

    I Believe The Term Is, “Sweat Like A Pig”? 2008

  • Now under pressure from congress, Luskin has completely backtracked, telling roll call, quote, 'Whether, when and about what a former White House official will testify is not for me or my client to decide but is part of an ongoing negotiation between the White House and congress over executive privilege issues.'

    Archive 2008-04-01 2008

  • The current potential for treatment and cure relies on evolution-based theory, by the way, stuff that intelligent design advocates testify is false.

    A Scientific Worldview? 2005

  • The current potential for treatment and cure relies on evolution-based theory, by the way, stuff that intelligent design advocates testify is false.

    A Scientific Worldview? 2005

  • The current potential for treatment and cure relies on evolution-based theory, by the way, stuff that intelligent design advocates testify is false

    A Scientific Worldview? 2005

  • Specifically, has the White House offered to have him -- if you don't want to use the word testify, tell me what word you would use -- talk to members of the Senate behind closed doors?

    CNN Transcript Mar 20, 2002 2002

  • The stored iron of the country is now exhausted, and the masters are using every diligence in their power to facilitate the supply, which still, as the advancing price of that great commodity will testify, is short of, and insufficient for the demand.

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845. Various

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