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tes·ti·fy (tĕstə-fī′)
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v. test·i·fied, test·i·fy·ing, test·i·fies
v.intr.
1. To give testimony in a legal case or before a deliberative body: witnesses testifying before a grand jury.
2. To express or declare a strong belief, especially to make a declaration of faith.
3. To make a statement based on personal knowledge in support of an asserted fact; bear witness: the exhilaration of weightlessness, to which many astronauts have testified.
4. To serve as evidence: wreckage that testifies to the ferocity of the storm.
v.tr.
1. To declare publicly; make known: testifying their faith.
2. To state or affirm as testimony in a legal case or before a deliberative body: testified in court that he saw the defendant.
3. To be evidence of: His frown testified his displeasure.
[Middle English testifien, from Latin testificārī : testis, witness; see trei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + -ficārī, -fy.]
tes′ti·fi·cation (-fĭ-kāshən) n.
testi·fi′er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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