|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
witness
wit·ness / ˈwitnis/ • n. 1. a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place: police are appealing for witnesses to the accident I was witness to one of the most amazing comebacks in sprinting history. ∎ a person giving sworn testimony to a court of law or the police. ∎ a person who is present at the signing of a document and signs it themselves to confirm this. 2. evidence; proof: the memorial service was witness to the wide circle of his interest. ∎ used to refer to confirmation or evidence given by signature, under oath, or otherwise: in witness thereof, the parties sign this document. ∎ open profession of one's religious faith through words or actions: he told us of faithful Christian witness by many in his country. 3. a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. • v. 1. [tr.] see (an event, typically a crime or accident) take place: a bartender who witnessed the murder. ∎ have knowledge of (an event or change) from personal observation or experience: what we are witnessing is the birth of a dangerously liberal orthodoxy. ∎ (of a time, place, or other context) be the setting in which (a particular event) takes place: the 1980s witnessed an unprecedented increase in the scope of the electronic media. ∎ be present as someone signs (a document) or gives (their signature) to a document and sign it oneself to confirm this: the clerk witnessed her signature. ∎ [in imper.] look at (used to introduce a fact illustrating a preceding statement): the nuclear family is a vulnerable institution—witness the rates of marital breakdown. 2. [intr.] (witness to) give or serve as evidence of; testify to: his writings witness to an inner toughness. ∎ (of a person) openly profess one's religious faith in: one of the purposes of his coming was to nerve the disciples to witness to Jesus. PHRASES: as God is my witness (or God be my witness) an invocation of God as confirmation of the truth of a statement: God be my witness, sir, I didn't!call someone or something to witness archaic appeal or refer to someone or something for confirmation or evidence of something: his hands extended upward as if to call the heavens to witness this injustice. |
|
|
Cite this article
"witness." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "witness." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-witness.html "witness." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-witness.html |
|
witness
witness At a trial two or three witnesses are required to corroborate evidence (Matt. 26: 60; Heb. 10: 28). They can initiate sentence of death (Deut. 17: 7; Acts 7: 58). False testimony is severely punished (Deut. 19: 16–21). In the NT a witness is one who can testify to the deed of Jesus in his ministry, death, and resurrection (Acts 1: 22). The word has come to have a specialized meaning when applied to someone who has witnessed to Jesus even to the extent of dying for him—hence a ‘martyr’ (derived from the Greek martus, ‘witness’). The word is on the way to this meaning in Heb. 12: 1, where the ‘cloud of witnesses’ who in spite of suffering have retained the faith are compared to cheering spectators in a stadium.
|
|
|
Cite this article
W. R. F. BROWNING. "witness." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "witness." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-witness.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "witness." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-witness.html |
|
witness
witness Legal term referring to a person who testifies in court to facts within his/her knowledge. In most western legal systems, a witness is usually required to take an oath swearing truthfulness prior to testifying, and he/she is then first examined (questioned) by the party who offers him/her and then cross-examined by the opposing party.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"witness." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "witness." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-witness.html "witness." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-witness.html |
|
witness
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "witness." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "witness." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-witness.html T. F. HOAD. "witness." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-witness.html |
|
Witness
703. Witness
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Witness." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Witness." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500712.html "Witness." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500712.html |
|
witness
witness see evidence . |
|
|
Cite this article
"witness." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "witness." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-witness.html "witness." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-witness.html |
|
witness
witness
•anise, Janice
•Daphnis • Agnes
•harness, Kiwanis
•Dennis, Ennis, Glenys, menace, tennis, Venice
•feyness, gayness, greyness (US grayness)
•finis, penis
•Glynis, Innes, pinnace
•Widnes • bigness • lychnis • illness
•dimness • hipness
•fitness, witness
•Erinys • iciness
•dryness, flyness, shyness, slyness, wryness
•cornice
•Adonis, Clones, Issigonis
•coyness
•Eunice, Tunis
•Bernice, furnace
•Thespis • precipice • coppice • hospice
•auspice • Serapis
|
|
|
Cite this article
"witness." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "witness." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-witness.html "witness." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-witness.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
