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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 96.41.231.16 (talk) at 23:15, 30 July 2019 (→Testimony's Hebraic origin: Added note about the Old Testament.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Untitled

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)[reply]

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?

You're right. Feel free to add any examples you have from elsewhere. Or you could just whine about the work someone else did. Either way. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.196.140.214 (talk) 02:08, 6 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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

Malick78 08:56, 10 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Section is back - it was backed up by a google search, an irrelevant list of Bible vulgarities, some random person's blog, and some random person's one-line reply on Wikianswers. I removed these references. --99.245.206.188 (talk) 06:58, 1 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Testimonio

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

Testimony's Hebraic origin

I have to disagree with all the naysayers on this. The word originally came from ancient Judea, and it was a rite in which a hand was placed on an elder's testes. I recently read this in Will Durant's Story of Civilization, The Age of Faith. If this is wrong then someone refute it, but this act was literally performed in ancient Judea.

Tyhou (talk) 01:26, 4 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In the Bible Abraham has someone put his hand under Abraham’s thigh to swear an oath on the children he had been promised by God. Some have thought that the person was to put the hand on Abraham’s circumcision, the symbol of the covenant.

Etymology

Testicle, diminutive of testis, a witness. (Latin) Witness of manhood. Source: An etymological dictionary of the English language By Walter William Skeat, page 633. Link [3] USchick (talk) 13:30, 23 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Jazz

I came here to see what the meaning of testify as it relates to Jazz and the song Jazzman. Could someone add something on it (the meaning)?--Auric (talk) 18:39, 17 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Testimony/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Needs references and reference citations. Badbilltucker 18:57, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Last edited at 18:57, 4 January 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 07:52, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

I think these should be split per WP:CONSPLIT, and Christian testimony should be set up as a separate article - we don't usually discuss the biblical tradition or uses of a word in our law articles, its meaning in NT is at times broader then the legal usage (as in Matt. 10:18 - not WP:OR, the analysis and cited verse are from the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology) Seraphim System (talk) 03:46, 25 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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