# testament

Pronunciation: say "TES-tuh-muhnt" US/UK /ˈtɛs.tə.mənt/, AUS /ˈtes.tə.mənt/

## Noun

1. Something that stands as tangible proof of something, or as a tribute to it.
   - Simple: Something you can see that proves or honors something.
   - _The rebuilt town hall stands as a testament to the community's resilience after the fire._
   - _His long career is a testament to what talent and stubbornness can achieve together._
2. Either of the two main divisions of the Christian scriptures.
   - Simple: One of the two parts of the Christian Bible, the Old Testament or the New Testament.
   - _The four Gospels open the New Testament._
   - _The course traces how the two Testaments portray mercy and judgment._
3. A formal, legally valid written document in which a person states how their estate and possessions are to pass to named heirs after their death.
   - Simple: A written paper saying who will get a person's money and things after they die.
   - _The lawyer read aloud the last will and testament of Margaret Ellis._
   - _Under the terms of his testament, the farm passed to his two nephews._
4. A statement or other expression of what someone firmly believes.
   - Simple: Words that show what someone strongly believes.
   - _The novelist called her last book a testament of faith in ordinary people._
   - _Read today, the pamphlet is the group's political testament, laying out everything it stood for._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To bequeath or leave by will.
- (verb) To make a will.

## Origin

From Middle English testament, from Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum ("the publication of a will, a will"; in Late Latin also one of the divisions of the Bible), from testor ("I am a witness, testify, attest, make a will"), from testis ("one who attests, a witness").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/testament (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).