In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his familyâs pot filled with coffee.
WITNESS
witness
(noun) testimony by word or deed to your religious faith
spectator, witness, viewer, watcher, looker
(noun) a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind); âthe spectators applauded the performanceâ; âtelevision viewersâ; âsky watchers discovered a new starâ
witness, witnesser, informant
(noun) someone who sees an event and reports what happened
witness, attestant, attestor, attestator
(noun) (law) a person who attests to the genuineness of a document or signature by adding their own signature
witness
(noun) (law) a person who testifies under oath in a court of law
witness
(verb) be a witness to; âShe witnessed the accident and had to testify in courtâ
witness, find, see
(verb) perceive or be contemporaneous with; âWe found Republicans winning the officesâ; âYouâll see a lot of cheating in this schoolâ; âThe 1960âs saw the rebellion of the younger generation against established traditionsâ; âI want to see resultsâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
witness (countable and uncountable, plural witnesses)
(uncountable) Attestation of a fact or event; testimony.
(countable) One who sees or has personal knowledge of something.
(countable, law) Someone called to give evidence in a court.
(countable) One who is called upon to witness an event or action, such as a wedding or the signing of a document.
(countable) Something that serves as evidence; a sign or token.
Verb
witness (third-person singular simple present witnesses, present participle witnessing, simple past and past participle witnessed)
(transitive) To furnish proof of, to show.
(transitive) To see or gain knowledge of through experience.
(intransitive, construed with to or for) To present personal religious testimony; to preach at (someone) or on behalf of.
To see the execution of (a legal instrument), and subscribe it for the purpose of establishing its authenticity.
Synonyms
• certify
Anagrams
• wisents
Noun
Witness (plural Witnesses)
Jehovah's Witness
Anagrams
• wisents
Source: Wiktionary
Wit"ness, n. Etym: [AS. witness, gewitnes, from witan to know. sq. root133. See Wit, v. i.]
1. Attestation of a fact or an event; testimony. May we with . . . the witness of a good conscience, pursue him with any further revenge Shak. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. John v. 31.
2. That which furnishes evidence or proof. Laban said to Jacob, . . . This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness. Gen. xxxi. 51, 52.
3. One who is cognizant; a person who beholds, or otherwise has personal knowledge of, anything; as, an eyewitness; an earwitness. "Thyself art witness I am betrothed." Shak. Upon my looking round, I was witness to appearances which filled me with melancholy and regret. R. Hall.
4. (Law) (a) One who testifies in a cause, or gives evidence before a judicial tribunal; as, the witness in court agreed in all essential facts. (b) One who sees the execution of an instrument, and subscribes it for the purpose of confirming its authenticity by his testimony; one who witnesses a will, a deed, a marriage, or the like. Privileged witnesses. (Law) See under Privileged.
– With a witness, effectually; to a great degree; with great force, so as to leave some mark as a testimony. [Colloq.] This, I confess, is haste with a witness. South.
Wit"ness, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Witnessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Witnessing.]
1. To see or know by personal presence; to have direct cognizance of. This is but a faint sketch of the incalculable calamities and horrors we must expect, should we ever witness the triumphs of modern infidelity. R. Hall. General Washington did not live to witness the restoration of peace. Marshall.
2. To give testimony to; to testify to; to attest. Behold how many things they witness against thee. Mark xv. 4.
3. (Law)
Definition: To see the execution of, as an instrument, and subscribe it for the purpose of establishing its authenticity; as, to witness a bond or a deed.
Wit"ness, v. i.
Definition: To bear testimony; to give evidence; to testify. Chaucer. The men of Belial witnessed against him. 1 Kings xxi. 13. The witnessing of the truth was then so generally attended with this event [martyrdom] that martyrdom now signifies not only to witness, but to witness to death. South.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
7 January 2025
UNINFORMATIVELY
(adverb) in an uninformative manner; ââI canât tell you when the manager will arrive,â he said rather uninformativelyâ
Coffee Trivia
