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Added 9 October 2026

witness

/ˈwɪt.nɪs/ noun

In Latin: testimōnium Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about witness at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Someone who sees an event and reports what happened.
A close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind).
the spectators applauded the performance
Testimony by word or deed to your religious faith.

verb

Be a witness to.
She witnessed the accident and had to testify in court
Perceive or be contemporaneous with.
We found Republicans winning the offices

Origin

From Middle English witnesse, from Old English ġewitnes, equivalent to wit + -ness. Cognate with Middle Dutch wetenisse (“witness, testimony”), Old High German gewiznessi (“testimony”), Icelandic vitni (“witness”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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