# testify
## English
### Etymology

* PIE word
* *tréyes
From Middle English testifien, borrowed from Old French testifier, from Latin testificārī (“to bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”) + facere (“to make”). See -fy.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛstɪfaɪ/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Hyphenation: tes‧ti‧fy

### Verb

testify (third-person singular simple present testifies, present participle testifying, simple past and past participle testified) (transitive, intransitive)
* To make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath.
** 2014 August 29, Ruzwana Bashir, “The untold story of how a culture of shame perpetuates abuse. I know, I was a victim”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:It was only after a decade away from Skipton that I was finally able to garner the courage to return and testify against my abuser.(Can we archive this URL?)
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 35:30:One witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
* To make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 3:11:We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
** 1733, Tho[mas] Allen, “Jesus Christ’s Sixth Royal Embassy; or Word to the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia”, in The Christian’s Sure Guide to Eternal Glory: Or, Living Oracles Most Comfortable, Holy and Instructive of the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven, in His Royal Embassy to the Seven Churches of Asia, […], London: […] Francis Jefferies […], →OCLC, page 253:[T]he pleaſures of ſenſe have no reliſh vvhere thou [Jesus] irradiateſt and teſtifieſt vvith our conſcience, that vve are the children of God, and have done thy vvill ſincerely, […]

#### Conjugation

| infinitive | (to) testify | (to) testify |
| | present tense | past tense |
| 1st-person singular | testify | testified |
| 2nd-person singular | testify, testifiest$^†$ | testified, testifiedst$^†$ |
| 3rd-person singular | testifies, testifieth$^†$ | testified |
| plural | testify | testified |
| subjunctive | testify | testified |
| imperative | testify | — |
| participles | testifying | testified |
$^†$Archaic or obsolete.

#### Synonyms

* bear witness

#### Related terms

* attest
* testimony
* testimonial

#### Translations

Albanian: dëshmoj (sq)
Arabic: شَهِدَ (ar) (šahida)
Armenian: վկայել (hy) (vkayel), վկայություն տալ (vkayutʻyun tal)
Bulgarian: свидетелствам (svidetelstvam)
Catalan: declarar (ca), testificar (ca), testimoniar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 作證／作证 (zh) (zuòzhèng)
Czech: svědčit (cs)
Danish: bevidne
Dutch: getuigen (nl)
Egyptian: (mtr)
Finnish: todistaa (fi)
French: témoigner (fr), attester (fr)
German: bezeugen (de)
Gothic: 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍄𐍅𐍉𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (weitwōdjan)
Greek:
Ancient: μαρτυρέω (marturéō)
Higaonon: saksi
Hungarian: tanúvallomást tesz, tanúskodik (hu), vall (hu)
Italian: deporre (it), testimoniare (it)
Japanese: 証言する (ja) (しょうげんする, shōgen suru)
Korean: 증언하다 (jeung'eonhada)
Latin: testificor
Maori: taunaki
Norwegian:
Bokmål: bevitne
Persian: شهادت دادن (fa)
Polish: zeznawać
Portuguese: declarar (pt), depor (pt)
Romanian: atesta (ro) (jurând), declara (ro) (jurând), adeveri (ro)
Russian: свиде́тельствовать (ru) impf (svidételʹstvovatʹ), засвиде́тельствовать (ru) pf (zasvidételʹstvovatʹ), дава́ть показа́ния impf (davátʹ pokazánija), дать показа́ния pf (datʹ pokazánija)
Serbo-Croatian: svjedòčiti (sh)
Spanish: testificar (es)
Swedish: vittna (sv)
Tagalog: manaksi :

### See also

* compel testimony

### Further reading

* “testify”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “testify”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.