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vouch

[vouch]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to support as being true, certain, reliable, etc. (usually followed by for): Her record in office vouches for her integrity.
  2. to attest; guarantee; certify (usually followed by for): to vouch for someone in a business transaction.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to sustain or uphold by, or as if by, practical proof or demonstration.
  2. (formerly) to call or summon (a person) into court to make good a warranty of title.
  3. to adduce or quote in support, as extracts from a book or author; cite in warrant or justification, as authority, instances, facts, etc.
  4. Archaic. to warrant or attest; to support or authenticate with vouchers.
  5. Archaic. to declare as with warrant; vouch for.
  6. Obsolete. to call or take as a witness.
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noun Obsolete.
  1. a vouching; an assertion.
  2. a formal attestation; a supporting warrant.
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Origin of vouch

1275–1325; Middle English vouchen < Anglo-French, Middle French vo(u)cher, Old French avochier < Latin advocāre; see advocate
Related formsun·vouched, adjectivewell-vouched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

backcorroboratevowsponsorwitnessguaranteecontendupholdproveverifysupportcertifytestifymaintainwarrantpredicateavowokayavertassert

Examples from the Web for vouch

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • She seemed to take charge, to adopt me with the house, to accept and audit and vouch for us.

  • It was said, afterwards, we were in five fathoms water at this time, but for this I will not vouch.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • I give you the rumour as it has reached me; but I cannot, as yet, vouch for its accuracy.

  • I can only vouch for its veracity by quoting the famous phrase, "If you see it in the Sun, it is so."

    Concerning Cats

    Helen M. Winslow

  • The publisher of this paper will vouch for my entire reliability.

British Dictionary definitions for vouch

vouch

verb
  1. (intr usually foll by for) to give personal assurance; guaranteeI'll vouch for his safety
  2. (when tr, usually takes a clause as object; when intr, usually foll by for) to furnish supporting evidence (for) or function as proof (of)
  3. (tr) English legal history to summon (a person who had warranted title to land) to defend that title or give up land of equal value
  4. (tr) archaic to cite (authors, principles, etc) in support of something
  5. (tr) obsolete to assert
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noun
  1. obsolete the act of vouching; assertion or allegation
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French vocher to summon, ultimately from Latin vocāre to call
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vouch

v.

early 14c., "summon into court to prove a title," from Anglo-French voucher, Old French vocher "to call, summon, invoke, claim," probably from Gallo-Romance *voticare, metathesis of Latin vocitare "to call to, summon insistently," frequentative of Latin vocare "to call, call upon, summon" (see voice (n.)). Meaning "guarantee to be true or accurate" is first attested 1590s. Related: Vouched; vouching.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper