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)

(law) Statements made by a witness in court.
Synonym: deposition
- 2012 August 21, Pilkington, Ed, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian‎:
  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.
An account of first-hand experience.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
  [Thou] for the testimony of truth, hast borne / Universal reproach.
(religion) In a church service (or religious service), a personal account, such as one's conversion, testimony of faith, or life testimony.
Witness; evidence; proof of some fact.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 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)
Egyptian Arabic: شهادة‎ f (šihāda)
Armenian: ցուցմունք (hy) (cʿucʿmunkʿ)
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)
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
Maori: taunaki
Norman: têmoignage m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: forklaring (no) m or f
Nynorsk: forklaring f, forklåring f
Old English: ġewitnes f
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, chứng cứ, bằng chứng (vi)

account of first-hand experience

Armenian: վկայություն (hy) (vkayutʿyun)
Belarusian: све́дчанне n (svjédčannje)
Bulgarian: свиде́телство (bg) n (svidételstvo)
Czech: svědectví (cs) n
Dutch: getuigenis (nl) f or n
Finnish: todistajanlausunto (fi)
Greek: μαρτυρία (el) f (martyría), δήλωση (el) f (dílosi)
Ancient: μαρτυρία f (marturía)
Hungarian: tanúskodás
Irish: fianaise f
Latin: testimōnium n
Old English: ġewitnes f
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)

personal account of conversion

Chinese:
Mandarin: 證言／证言 (zh) sg
Finnish: todistus (fi)
French: témoignage (fr) m
German: Zeugnis (de) n, Glaubenszeugnis n (faith), Lebenszeugnis n (life)
Hungarian: tanúságtétel
Portuguese: testemunho (pt) m
Spanish: testimonio (es) m

witness; evidence; proof of some fact

Bulgarian: свидетелство (bg) n (svidetelstvo)
Danish: bevis 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
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