I. ˈwitnə̇s noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English witnesse, from Old English witnes knowledge, testimony, witness, from wit, n. + -nes -ness — more at wit
1.
a.
(1) : attestation of a fact or an event : evidence , testimony
(2) obsolete : attestation or evidence provided by a person in court
b. : such testimony by signature or oath
2. : one that gives evidence regarding matters of fact under inquiry ; specifically : one who testifies or is legally qualified to testify in a cause or to give evidence before a judicial tribunal or similar inquiry
no person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself — U.S. Constitution
one of the oil industry's most persuasive witnesses before congressional committees — Current Biography
3.
a. : one who is called on to be present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place (as one who witnesses a will, deed, or marriage) ; specifically : one who sees the execution of an instrument and subscribes it to confirm its authenticity by his testimony
no witness … can take any benefit under any testamentary document which is witnessed by him — Edward Jenks
b. obsolete : a sponsor or godparent at baptism
4.
a. : one that is cognizant of something by direct experience : one who beholds or otherwise has personal knowledge of something
a witness , though hardly … an actor, in these scenes — J.H.Newman
standing there, I was witness of a little incident — A.T.Quiller-Couch
the clock also was a witness to the success of the evening — Viola Meynell
— see earwitness , eyewitness
b. : one, often God, who is invoked as cognizant of a fact and offered as one's surety — usually used in asseverations
though, God's my witness , there's no spite in me — Charles Kingsley
c. : one who by action or word gives testimony of fidelity to Christ and the Christian faith
you may feel the call to be a witness for Jesus — Rex Ingamells
5.
a. : something that serves as or furnishes evidence or proof : an evidential mark, sign, or token
prehistoric peoples left behind material witnesses to their cultures — Brewton Berry
the party's press … is likewise witness to its weakened state — J.G.Colton
b. : something that serves as an evidential example offered in substantiation of a statement — used to introduce a name or instance
the universities are showing the way, witness their contribution to winning the war — Walter Moberly
our grammar — witness our verb system — is a marvel of flexibility — Charlton Laird
— sometimes used with as
outlaws have always been romanticized … as witness Jesse James — Ballad Book
c. : a manuscript or an early version of a manuscript that in textual criticism constitutes evidence of authority for a text — usually used in plural
few of these witnesses contain the complete New Testament — I.M.Price
d. : public testimony by word or deed to one's religious faith
live a life of Christian witness alongside Communism — F.T.Cartwright
the church … is not to abdicate its Christian witness to government and secular society — K.D.Miller
6. : proof 5b
7. usually capitalized : a member of Jehovah's Witnesses
•
- bear one witness
- bear witness
- with a witness
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English witnessen, from witnesse witness
transitive verb
1. : to furnish evidence or proof such as to establish : give testimony to : provide oral or written evidence of : bear witness to : testify to : attest
early writers witness the antiquity of the custom
ready to witness that the handwriting is that of the defendant
2. : to act as legal witness of: as
a. obsolete : to give formal or sworn evidence of (as in court)
you said you saw one here in court could witness it — Shakespeare
b. : to see the execution of (as an instrument) and subscribe for the purpose of establishing authenticity : attest formally by signature : sign as a witness of the execution of (as a signature or writing)
witness a will
c. : to be formally present as a witness of (as a transaction or the execution of a convict)
3. : to give or constitute evidence of : furnish proof of : serve as a token or sign showing : betoken , evince
your actions witness your guilt
our wounds witness the ferocity of the attack made upon us
4. : to establish by sworn or attested evidence contained therein : furnish formally attested evidence of — used of a document
this indenture further witnesses that injury to stock amounts to two hundred dollars
5.
a. obsolete : to show or evidence by one's behavior
he roll'd his eyes that witnessed huge dismay — Alexander Pope
b. : to bear witness to (as an object of allegiance or devotion) by speech or conduct : show evidence of by one's behavior
more effectively to witness Christ in our daily lives
6. : to see or know by reason of personal presence : have direct cognizance of : observe with one's own eyes or ears : be present as an observer at : experience by personal observation — used especially of something of a formal nature or of more than ordinary significance
the inauguration … is said to have been witnessed by ten million persons — F.L.Mott
the accident was witnessed by many fishermen — Norman Douglas
7. : to constitute the scene of : form part of the setting of : be associated with
this village witnessed … the last stand of the mule-drawn streetcar — American Guide Series: Louisiana
the French Revolution witnessed some … bloody massacres — Alfred Cobban
the postwar period has witnessed a number of developments in exchange rate practices — R.F.Mikesell
intransitive verb
1. : to bear witness : give evidence : testify — usually used with to or against
hoping that they might witness to the truth of his doctrine — J.L.Teller
in these ways we witness against our professed faiths — J.F.Dulles
2. : to make known to others (as by speech or conduct) the religious experience one has undergone or the religious truths in which one believes : bear witness to one's religious convictions
III. adjective
Etymology: Middle English witnesse, from witnesse, n., witness
1. : of, relating to, or used by a witness
witness room
witness fee
2. : serving as a landmark or survey reference point
witness tree
witness stake
— compare witness corner