testify

From Middle English testifien, borrowed from Old French testifier, from Latin testificārī (“to bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”) + facere (“to make”). See -fy.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛstɪfaɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tes‧ti‧fy

testify (third-person singular simple present testifies, present participle testifying, simple past and past participle testified) (ambitransitive)

1. To make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath.
   • 2014 August 29, Ruzwana Bashir, “The untold story of how a culture of shame perpetuates abuse. I know, I was a victim”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     It was only after a decade away from Skipton that I was finally able to garner the courage to return and testify against my abuser.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Numbers 35:30:

     One witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

2. To make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, John 3:11:

     We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

   • 1733, Tho Allen, “Jesus Christ’s Sixth Royal Embassy; or Word to the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia”, in The Christian’s Sure Guide to Eternal Glory: Or, Living Oracles Most Comfortable, Holy and Instructive of the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven, in His Royal Embassy to the Seven Churches of Asia, , London: Francis Jefferies , →OCLC, page 253:

     he pleaſures of ſenſe have no reliſh vvhere thou irradiateſt and teſtifieſt vvith our conſcience, that vve are the children of God, and have done thy vvill ſincerely,

3. (with to) To be evidence of.
   • 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 15:

     "Iberian-Sardinian" substrate features have been posited time and time again. These have usually been explained as testifying to a migration from the Iberian Peninsula to Sardinia in prehistoric times.

• bear witness

• attest
• testimony
• testimonial

• compel testimony

• “testify”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E Smith, editors (1911), “testify”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.