document

[noun dok-yuh-muhnt; verb dok-yuh-ment]

noun

a written or printed paper furnishing information or evidence, as a passport, deed, bill of sale, or bill of lading; a legal or official paper.

any written item, as a book, article, or letter, especially of a factual or informative nature.

a computer data file.

Archaic. evidence; proof.

verb (used with object)

to furnish with documents.

to furnish with references, citations, etc., in support of statements made: a carefully documented biography.

to support by documentary evidence: to document a case.

Nautical. to provide (a vessel) with a certificate giving particulars concerning nationality, ownership, tonnage, dimensions, etc.

Obsolete. to instruct.

Origin of document

1400–50; late Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin documentum example (as precedent, warning, etc.), equivalent to doc- (stem of docēre to teach) + -u- (variant of -i- -i- before labials) + -mentum -ment

Related formsdoc·u·ment·a·ble

[dok-yuh-men-tuh-buhl, dok-yuh-men-] /ˈdɒk yəˌmɛn tə bəl, ˌdɒk yəˈmɛn-/, adjectivedoc·u·ment·er, nounnon·doc·u·ment·ed, adjective, nounre·doc·u·ment, verb (used with object)well-doc·u·ment·ed, adjective

Synonyms for document

6. corroborate, verify, substantiate, validate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for well-documented

Contemporary Examples of well-documented

This is a well-documented phenomenon which does not worry specialists.
Uh Oh: Ebola Vaccine Trials Stop
Leigh Cowart
December 19, 2014
Further, the contagion effect of suicide and the resultant attention to it is a well-documented phenomenon.
'Genie, You're Free': Suicide Is Not Liberation
Russell Saunders
August 12, 2014
There is some scientific merit to some alternative modalities, such as the well-documented placebo effect.
Why Smart People Are Dumb Patients
Jean Kim
July 14, 2014
Sinclair published a well-documented book on the subject in 2012.
We Watch the DSK Sex Romp So You Don’t Have To
Tracy McNicoll
May 20, 2014
There was also well-documented evidence that Bush had done cocaine during the same period.
Karl Rove’s Awful, and Afactual, Remarks About Hillary Clinton’s Health
Sally Kohn
May 13, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for well-documented

well-documented

adjective (well documented when postpositive)

widely recorded or recounteda well-documented fact

document

noun (ˈdɒkjʊmənt)

a piece of paper, booklet, etc, providing information, esp of an official or legal nature

a piece of text or text and graphics stored in a computer as a file for manipulation by document processing software

archaic evidence; proof

verb (ˈdɒkjʊˌmɛnt) (tr)

to record or report in detail, as in the press, on television, etcthe trial was well documented by the media

to support (statements in a book) with citations, references, etc

to support (a claim, etc) with evidence or proof

to furnish (a vessel) with official documents specifying its ownership, registration, weight, dimensions, and function

Word Origin for document

C15: from Latin documentum a lesson, from docēre to teach

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 well-documented

document

early 15c., "teaching, instruction," from Old French document (13c.) "lesson, written evidence," from Latin documentum "example, proof, lesson," in Medieval Latin "official written instrument," from docere "to show, teach" (see doctor (n.)). Meaning "something written that provides proof or evidence" is from early 18c. Related: Documents.

document

1640s, "to teach;" see document (n.). Meaning "to support by documentary evidence" is from 1711. Related: Documented; documenting.