testament

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Testament

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English testament, from Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum (“the publication of a will, a will, testament, in Late Latin one of the divisions of the Bible”), from testor (“I am a witness, testify, attest, make a will”), from testis (“one who attests, a witness”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛs.tə.mənt/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈtes.tə.mənt/

Noun

testament (plural testaments)

1. (law) A solemn, authentic instrument in writing, by which a person declares his or her will as to disposal of his or her inheritance (estate and effects) after his or her death, benefiting specified heir(s).

   Synonyms: will, last will and testament, last will

2. One of the two parts to the scriptures of the Christian religion: the New Testament, considered by Christians to be a continuation of the Hebrew scriptures, and the Hebrew scriptures themselves, which they refer to as the Old Testament.
3. A tangible proof or tribute.

   The ancient aqueducts are a testament to the great engineering skill of the Roman Empire.

   • 1976 August 28, Steven Blevins, “Ads and Beauty Contests”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 9, page 4:

     These ads are a sad testament to the paper's attitude toward gay men, and a disheartening indication of the direction GCN may be going.

4. A credo, expression of conviction

   The prime minister's speech was a glowing testament to the cabinet's undying commitment to the royal cause.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

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

Verb

testament (third-person singular simple present testaments, present participle testamenting, simple past and past participle testamented)

1. (intransitive) To make a will.
2. (transitive) To bequeath or leave by will.

Anagrams

• statement, tentmates

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin testāmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Noun

testament m (plural testaments)

1. testament
2. will (document)

Derived terms

• Antic Testament
• Nou Testament

Further reading

• “testament” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “testament”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “testament” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “testament” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:

testament

Wikipedia ^nl

Etymology

From Middle Dutch testament, from Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum (“the publication of a will, a will, testament”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛstaˈmɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tes‧ta‧ment
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

testament n (plural testamenten, diminutive testamentje n)

1. (law) testament, last will
2. (biblical) testament (part of the Bible)

Derived terms

Descendants

• Negerhollands: testament
• → Indonesian: testamen

References

• “testament” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie.

French

Etymology

From Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛs.ta.mɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

testament m (plural testaments)

1. (law) testament, last will
2. legacy

Derived terms

Further reading

• “testament”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

testament

Wikipedia ^no

Alternative forms

• testamente

Etymology

From Latin testāmentum, via Old Norse testament.

Noun

testament n (definite singular testamentet, indefinite plural testament or testamenter, definite plural testamenta or testamentene)

1. (law) a will (and/or) testament

Related terms

• testamentere

References

• “testament” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• testamente

Etymology

From Latin testāmentum, via Old Norse testament.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛstɑˈmɛnt/

Noun

testament n (definite singular testamentet, indefinite plural testament, definite plural testamenta)

1. (law) a will, testament (declaration of disposal of inheritance)
2. (Christianity) a testament (one of the two parts of the Bible)

References

• “testament” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Etymology

From Latin testāmentum.

Noun

testament oblique singular, m (oblique plural testamenz or testamentz, nominative singular testamenz or testamentz, nominative plural testament)

1. testimony; statement

Descendants

• → English: testament
• French: testament

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /testaˈmɛŋt/

Noun

testament m

1. testament

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

testament

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin testāmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛsˈta.mɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -amɛnt
• Syllabification: tes‧ta‧ment

Noun

testament m inan (diminutive testamencik, related adjective testamentowy or testamentalny or testamentarny)

1. testament, will (formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes)
2. legacy (artistic creation or spiritual message left behind after someone's death for future generations)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• testament in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• testament in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• testament in PWN's encyclopedia

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin testamentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tes.taˈment/

Noun

testament n (plural testamente)

1. will

Declension

References

• testament in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin testāmentum.

Noun

testàment m (Cyrillic spelling теста̀мент)

1. (law) the (last) will (legal document)

Declension

Related terms

• ȍporuka (formal, Croatia)