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witness

[wit-nis]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR witness ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to bear witness; testify; give or afford evidence.

noun

Origin of witness

before 950; (noun) Middle English, Old English witnes orig., knowledge, understanding; see wit1, -ness; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Related formswit·ness·a·ble, adjectivewit·ness·er, nounpre·wit·ness, noun, verb (used with object)self-wit·ness, nounself-wit·nessed, adjectivewell-wit·nessed, adjective

Synonyms for witness

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR witness ON THESAURUS.COM
1. perceive, watch, mark, notice, note. See observe. 10. proof, confirmation, substantiation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for witnessed

signed, verified, alleged, validated, substantiated, warranted, sealed, certified, valid

Examples from the Web for witnessed

Contemporary Examples of witnessed

Historical Examples of witnessed

  • Robert was not the only one who witnessed with indignation the captain's brutality.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • It was at this time that a very remarkable scene was witnessed in the House.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time.

  • For about five minutes it was the most frightful scene I have ever witnessed.

    Ridgeway

    Scian Dubh

  • In this place I witnessed a new thing and had a strange experience.

    Green Mansions

    W. H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for witnessed

witness

noun

a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event
a person or thing giving or serving as evidence
a person who testifies, esp in a court of law, to events or facts within his own knowledge
a person who attests to the genuineness of a document, signature, etc, by adding his own signature
bear witness
  1. to give written or oral testimony
  2. to be evidence or proof ofRelated adjective: testimonial

verb

(tr) to see, be present at, or know at first hand
to give or serve as evidence (of)
(tr) to be the scene or setting ofthis field has witnessed a battle
(intr) to testify, esp in a court of law, to events within a person's own knowledge
(tr) to attest to the genuineness of (a document, signature, etc) by adding one's own signature
Derived Formswitnessable, adjectivewitnesser, noun

Word Origin for witness

Old English witnes (meaning both testimony and witness), from witan to know, wit ² + -ness; related to Old Norse vitni
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 witnessed

witness

n.

Old English witnes "attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;" also "one who so testifies;" originally "knowledge, wit," formed from wit (n.) + -ness. Christian use (late 14c.) is as a literal translation of Greek martys (see martyr). Witness stand is recorded from 1853.

witness

v.

c.1300, from witness (n.). Related: Witnessed; witnessing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper