# witness

Pronunciation: say "WIT-nuhs" /ˈwɪtnəs/

## Verb

1. To see or come to know something directly through your own experience.
   - Simple: To see something happen with your own eyes or learn it through your own experience.
   - _Thousands of people witness the festival's opening ceremony each year._
   - _He witnessed the company's slow collapse over a decade._
5. To observe the signing of a legal document and sign it yourself to confirm its authenticity.
   - Simple: To watch someone sign an official paper and sign it yourself to show it is real.
   - _Two neighbors agreed to witness the will._
   - _She witnessed the contract and added her signature below his._
8. To furnish proof of something; to show or demonstrate it.
   - Simple: To be proof of something and show that it is true.
   - _The crowded streets witness the festival's enduring popularity._
   - _His steady hands witnessed years of careful practice._
9. To call upon someone or something as evidence in support of a statement.
   - Simple: To call on someone or something as proof of what you say.
   - _Defendants may witness heaven that they speak only the truth._
   - _He witnessed his companions that he had paid the debt in full._
10. To share one's personal religious faith publicly; to testify about one's beliefs.
   - Simple: To speak in public about your religious faith.
   - _Members of the church often witness door to door in the neighborhood._
   - _He stood on the steps and witnessed to the gathered crowd._

## Noun

2. A person who sees an event or has personal knowledge of something.
   - Simple: A person who sees something happen or knows about it directly.
   - _A witness to the robbery gave a detailed account to reporters._
   - _Investigators interviewed every witness at the scene._
3. A person called to give evidence in a court of law.
   - Simple: A person who tells a court what they saw or know.
   - _The prosecution called its first witness on Monday morning._
   - _Defense lawyers cross-examined the key witness for hours._
4. A person called upon to observe an event or action (a wedding or the signing of a document) and confirm that it took place.
   - Simple: A person who watches an event, like a wedding or a signing, to confirm it happened.
   - _The contract requires a witness to countersign each page._
   - _She served as a witness at her friend's wedding._
6. Testimony; the attestation of a fact or event.
   - Simple: A statement given as proof that something is true.
   - _The historian relied on the witness of those who had survived the famine._
   - _They bore witness to the injustice they had seen._
7. An indication that something is true or has happened.
   - Simple: A thing that shows something is true, like a sign.
   - _The scars on the land were a silent witness to the wildfire._
   - _Ancient coins found at the site are a witness to early trade._

## Origin

From Middle English "witnesse", from Old English "ġewitnes", made from "wit" plus the suffix "-ness". It is related to Middle Dutch "wetenisse" ("witness, testimony"), Old High German "gewiznessi" ("testimony"), and Icelandic "vitni" ("witness").

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