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Jump to navigationJump to searchCreated page with 'File:lighterstill.jpg ==Origins== OE. witnes, more freq. ewitnes, f. (e)wit WIT n., IWIT + -nes -NESS. Cf. OHG. giwinessi, MDu. wetenisse. The passage in sense from abstract...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]]
==Origins==
OE. witnes, more freq. ewitnes, f. (e)wit WIT n., IWIT + -nes -NESS. Cf. OHG. giwinessi, MDu. wetenisse. The passage in sense from abstract to concrete is paralleled in F. témoin (:L. testimonium). The uninflected pl. was frequent in early use; for separate illustration see sense 4.
===Definitions==
1. The [[action]] of bearing witness or giving testimony. in witnessing of, as a witness to; to bear witnessing, to bear witness.
2. That which is uttered or stated in support of a fact or statement; evidence given. Obs.
3. Attestation (of a document). Chiefly in phr. in or into (the) witnessing of = F. en témoignage de.
4. The fact of being present and observing something. So witnessing ppl.
5. a. One who is called on, selected, or appointed to be present at a transaction, so as to be able to [[testify]] to its having taken place: spec. one who is present at the execution of a document and subscribes it in attestation thereof; more definitely, attesting or subscribing witness. Often in formulæ corresponding to med.L. teste me ipso, teste rege, his testibus, etc., AF. tesmoin...
:b. A sponsor or godparent at [[baptism]]. Obs. orig. in Puritan use.
*6. a. One who is or was present and is able to testify from [[personal]] [[observation]]; one present as a spectator or auditor. (Cf. EAR-WITNESS, EYE-WITNESS.) Usually with of, occas. to.
:b. In asseverative formulæ, in which a [[deity]] or a [[human being]] is invoked as one who is cognizant of a [[fact]]; as [[God]] is my witness, be my witness that... Most often in phr. to call or take to (one's) witness: to call upon or appeal to as one's surety; to swear by.
:c. Referring to, usually introducing, the designation of an [[authority]] for a statement. (Cf. 7b.)
*7. fig. Something that furnishes [[evidence]] or [[proof]] of the [[thing]] or [[fact]] mentioned; an evidential mark or sign, a token.
:b. Introducing a name, designation, phrase, or clause denoting a [[person]] or [[thing]] that furnishes [[evidence]] of the [[fact]] or exemplifies the statement. Also as witness, and, in early use, witness on. (After L. teste..., F. témoin...)
:c. spec. In [[text]]ual [[criticism]], a manuscript or an early version which is regarded as [[evidence]] of [[authority]] for the text. (Usually in pl.)
*8. a. One who testifies for Christ or the [[Christian]] [[faith]], esp. by death; a martyr. Obs. exc. as literal rendering of Gr. MARTYR.
[[Category: General Reference]]
==Origins==
OE. witnes, more freq. ewitnes, f. (e)wit WIT n., IWIT + -nes -NESS. Cf. OHG. giwinessi, MDu. wetenisse. The passage in sense from abstract to concrete is paralleled in F. témoin (:L. testimonium). The uninflected pl. was frequent in early use; for separate illustration see sense 4.
===Definitions==
1. The [[action]] of bearing witness or giving testimony. in witnessing of, as a witness to; to bear witnessing, to bear witness.
2. That which is uttered or stated in support of a fact or statement; evidence given. Obs.
3. Attestation (of a document). Chiefly in phr. in or into (the) witnessing of = F. en témoignage de.
4. The fact of being present and observing something. So witnessing ppl.
5. a. One who is called on, selected, or appointed to be present at a transaction, so as to be able to [[testify]] to its having taken place: spec. one who is present at the execution of a document and subscribes it in attestation thereof; more definitely, attesting or subscribing witness. Often in formulæ corresponding to med.L. teste me ipso, teste rege, his testibus, etc., AF. tesmoin...
:b. A sponsor or godparent at [[baptism]]. Obs. orig. in Puritan use.
*6. a. One who is or was present and is able to testify from [[personal]] [[observation]]; one present as a spectator or auditor. (Cf. EAR-WITNESS, EYE-WITNESS.) Usually with of, occas. to.
:b. In asseverative formulæ, in which a [[deity]] or a [[human being]] is invoked as one who is cognizant of a [[fact]]; as [[God]] is my witness, be my witness that... Most often in phr. to call or take to (one's) witness: to call upon or appeal to as one's surety; to swear by.
:c. Referring to, usually introducing, the designation of an [[authority]] for a statement. (Cf. 7b.)
*7. fig. Something that furnishes [[evidence]] or [[proof]] of the [[thing]] or [[fact]] mentioned; an evidential mark or sign, a token.
:b. Introducing a name, designation, phrase, or clause denoting a [[person]] or [[thing]] that furnishes [[evidence]] of the [[fact]] or exemplifies the statement. Also as witness, and, in early use, witness on. (After L. teste..., F. témoin...)
:c. spec. In [[text]]ual [[criticism]], a manuscript or an early version which is regarded as [[evidence]] of [[authority]] for the text. (Usually in pl.)
*8. a. One who testifies for Christ or the [[Christian]] [[faith]], esp. by death; a martyr. Obs. exc. as literal rendering of Gr. MARTYR.
[[Category: General Reference]]
