Talk:Testimony

Should we include the religious definition of "testimony" here? Bccomm 11:58, 9 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Philosophy

The philosical definition is just any stuff your told. See Testimony, philosophical problems of. --JK the unwise 18:52, 3 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The real etymology

has nothing to do with testes. It comes from testis "witness" with a deep PIE root in *tris "three", embodying the notion of a "third" party, an impartial witness [1] It seems a shame to spoil the fun, though. --Wetman 00:39, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

Well, go ahead if you can include a source. Tom Haws 14:47, May 16, 2005 (UTC)

law

Isn't this law section ridiculously US-centric?

Testify

Etymology is cited as follows:-

(pl. testes), 1704, from L. testis "testicle," usually regarded as a special application of testis "witness" (see testament), presumably because it "bears witness" to virility (cf. Gk. parastates, lit. "one that stands by;" and Fr. slang témoins, lit. "witnesses"). But Buck thinks Gk. parastatai "testicles" has been wrongly associated with the legal sense of parastates "supporter, defender" and suggests instead parastatai in the sense of twin "supporting pillars, props of a mast," etc. Walde, meanwhile, suggests a connection between testis and testa "pot, shell, etc."

Presumably, this was because only men could bear witness in ancient Rome. Nowadays no such restriction exists and it would be inaccurate to use this word when a woman bears witness. Therefore when a woman gives evidence, the word to use should be "PUSSIFY". (Unsigned comment added 6th August 2005 by 203.186.238.232)

On a similar note someone added:

'The word "Testimony" comes from an ancient Roman tradition in which men would verify promises by putting a hand on their testicles.'

As its the users only ever edit, and is unsourced I removed it for now, if it happens to be true then I think someone will have to show a reputable source or most people will probably assume its a joke. Sfnhltb 14:02, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Testify and testimony derive from Latin testis, meaning "witness". The etymology of the second meaning of "testis", i.e. "testicle", is uncertain, according to the OED2. Lewis and Short also have two distinct lemmas for testis. Any connection between the two senses is speculative, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus among scholars as to whether the two senses are or aren't related. --MarkSweep (call me collect) 05:34, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

• See here for a good explanation of the urban myth [2]

Malick78 08:56, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Testimonio

I just want to call attention to the discussion on testimonio regarding [[Rigoberta Menchu]]´s autobiography. Also discussed on [[Journalism scandals]] page.