testimony

/ˌtɛstəˈmoʊni/

/ˈtɛstɪməʊni/

Other forms: testimonies

When you give testimony you are telling what you saw or what you know. Your testimony that your hand was not in the cookie jar goes against the testimony of several eyewitnesses.

The Latin root for testimony is testis, meaning “ witness.” “Eye witness testimony” is a phrase you will hear often in legal discussions. An object can also give testimony, without speaking of course: "The statue they built of you outside the bowling alley offers testimony to your greatness."

Definitions of testimony

1. noun

   something that serves as evidence
   “his effort was testimony to his devotion”

   synonyms: testimonial

   types:

   good authority

   testimony by someone who should know

   testament

   strong evidence for something

   type of:

   evidence

   an indication that makes something evident
2. noun

   a solemn statement made under oath
   types:

   witness

   testimony by word or deed to your religious faith

   declaration

   (law) unsworn statement that can be admitted in evidence in a legal transaction

   attestation

   the action of bearing witness

   affidavit

   written declaration made under oath; a written statement sworn to be true before someone legally authorized to administer an oath

   subornation

   perjured testimony that someone was persuaded to give

   shahadah

   the first pillar of Islam is an affirmation of faith

   verification

   (law) an affidavit attached to a statement confirming the truth of that statement

   type of:

   evidence

   (law) all the means by which any alleged matter of fact whose truth is investigated at judicial trial is established or disproved
3. noun

   an assertion offering firsthand authentication of a fact
   “according to his own testimony he can't do it”

   type of:

   assertion, asseveration, averment

   a declaration that is made emphatically (as if no supporting evidence were necessary)