I. ˈdä-kyə-mənt, -kyü- noun
Etymology: Middle English, precept, teaching, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin documentum official paper, from Latin, lesson, proof, from docēre to teach — more at docile
Date: 15th century
1.
a. archaic : proof , evidence
b. : an original or official paper relied on as the basis, proof, or support of something
c. : something (as a photograph or a recording) that serves as evidence or proof
2.
a. : a writing conveying information
b. : a material substance (as a coin or stone) having on it a representation of thoughts by means of some conventional mark or symbol
c. : documentary
3. : a computer file containing information input by a computer user and usually created with an application (as a word processor)
• doc·u·men·tal ˌdä-kyə-ˈmen-t ə l, -kyü- adjective
II. ˈdä-kyə-ˌment transitive verb
Date: 1711
1. : to furnish documentary evidence of
2. : to furnish with documents
3.
a. : to provide with factual or substantial support for statements made or a hypothesis proposed ; especially : to equip with exact references to authoritative supporting information
b.
(1) : to construct or produce (as a movie or novel) with authentic situations or events
(2) : to portray realistically
4. : to furnish (a ship) with ship's papers
• doc·u·ment·able -ˌmen-tə-bəl, ˌdä-kyə-ˈ, -kyü- adjective
• doc·u·ment·er ˈdä-kyə-ˌmen-tər noun