an assertion offering firsthand authentication of a fact
<noun.communication> according to his own testimony he can't do it
something that serves as evidence
<noun.communication> his effort was testimony to his devotion
Testimony \Tes"ti*mo*ny\, v. t. To witness; to attest; to prove by testimony. [Obs.] --Shak.
Testimony \Tes"ti*mo*ny\, n.; pl. {Testimonies}. [L. testimonium, from testis a witness: cf. OF. testimoine, testemoine, testimonie. See {Testify}.] 1. A solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving some fact.
Note: Such declaration, in judicial proceedings, may be verbal or written, but must be under oath or affirmation.
2. Affirmation; declaration; as, these doctrines are supported by the uniform testimony of the fathers; the belief of past facts must depend on the evidence of human testimony, or the testimony of historians.
3. Open attestation; profession.
[Thou] for the testimony of truth, hast borne Universal reproach. --Milton.
4. Witness; evidence; proof of some fact.
When ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. --Mark vi. 11.
5. (Jewish Antiq.) The two tables of the law.
Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. --Ex. xxv. 16.
6. Hence, the whole divine revelation; the sacre? Scriptures.
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. --Ps. xix. 7.
Usage: {Testimony}, {Proof}, {Evidence}. Proof is the most familiar, and is used more frequently (though not exclusively) of facts and things which occur in the ordinary concerns of life. Evidence is a word of more dignity, and is more generally applied to that which is moral or intellectual; as, the evidences of Christianity, etc. Testimony is what is deposed to by a witness on oath or affirmation. When used figuratively or in a wider sense, the word testimony has still a reference to some living agent as its author, as when we speak of the testimony of conscience, or of doing a thing in testimony of our affection, etc. Testimony refers rather to the thing declared, evidence to its value or effect. ``To conform our language more to common use, we ought to divide arguments into demonstrations, proofs, and probabilities; ba proofs, meaning such arguments from experience as leave no room for doubt or opposition.'' --Hume. ``The evidence of sense is the first and highest kind of evidence of which human nature is capable.'' --Bp. Wilkins. ``The proof of everything must be by the testimony of such as the parties produce.'' --Spenser.
Bond prices finished narrowly mixed Tuesday as the market shrugged off new reports on trade and industrial production and looked toward Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony before Congress.
In testimony, the prosecution called FBI agent Robert Reich to explain a large chart that outlined the flow of funds from the Philippines for the purchase of an office building at 200 Madison.
U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell made the comment at a hearing where the government argued that North's subpoenas served last month for the testimony of Bush and Reagan should be quashed.
Much of the testimony at the hearing has focused on technical studies of how cracks form in 737s.
The evidence follows previous testimony of high-level efforts in the White House and CIA to cover up the administration's involvement in the sale.
No Lawrence Walsh staffer, potential juror or witness can prove, as the law requires, that he isn't relying on immune testimony.
Throughout his testimony, Judge Sessions sought to demonstrate his independence.
Robert Vander Lugt, took the witness stand Thursday to support Thunman's testimony.
A 1972 Supreme Court ruling says the prosecution must derive all its evidence in a case from sources wholly independent of testimony a defendant gave under a grant of immunity.
The Pentagon chief provided a hint of the impact on Tuesday in testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense.
According to testimony, Salcido began the killing frenzy after a night of bar-hopping.
The officer's testimony came on the 10th day of an inquest by Gibraltar Coroner Felix Pizzarello and an 11-man jury into the shootings of the three unarmed IRA members.
Judge Bork's refusal to die a death of a thousand libels means they will have to explain on the Senate floor the stark contrast between their claims and his testimony.
McFarlane's testimony followed a temporary halt in the trial this morning as North's lawyers tried to introduce classified material while cross-examining the former national security official.
Gesell said he wanted to know whether the ex-president personally objects to appearing at "a later date convenient for him" or whether other arrangements for his testimony could be substituted.
One contended the statute Peterson is charged under is too vague; the other said evidence and testimony presented at the preliminary examination did not support the charge.
Adding to those worries was the bond market's impression from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's Humphrey-Hawkins testimony that the central bank isn't as staunch about fighting inflation as it might be.
The testimony came at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing yesterday.
But he has previously denied charges that he stonewalled the investigation, and said a congressional committee that took testimony from prosecutors in his office failed to find evidence that he slowed the investigation at Meese's request.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which operates under the Military Code of Justice, has been taking testimony from loyal and rebel officers for two weeks.
President Bush and Attorney General Dick Thornburgh have said the case against Noriega is strong, indicating a belief among federal prosecutors that their witnesses' testimony will hold up in court.
And in San Francisco, a spokesman for Bank of America declined to comment on Milian Rodriguez's testimony.
It lives in his son, John Timothy Singer, who has spoken with anguish of his father's death, and in the testimony of Addam Swapp, husband of two of Singer's daughters and his father-in-law's spiritual heir.
That testimony was called "slanderous" by then-Vice President Bush, and a 1989 Senate committee report concluded that Brenneke never had the Central Intelligence Agency connections he claimed.
The judge in the Oliver North trial was able to seat a jury that claimed to not have seen, heard or read about North's televised testimony in Congress.
"The American people have the right to hear everything involving the savings and loan scandal, and I will not be a party to any closed meetings to hear testimony from those who are responsible for this multi-billion scandal," Annunzio said.
The hearing began in San Francisco federal court last week and was shifted across the bay to San Quentin for the inmates' testimony.
Dixon said the committee also has asked for transcripts and other documents from the Texas fraud trial of three savings and loan executives, where Wright's name surfaced in testimony last week.
Thach cited Assistant Secretary of State Gaston Sigur's testimony before a congressional committee in July in which Sigur urged the continued isolation of Vietnam.
Abbas Hamadi's trial resumes March 1, with further testimony expected about Mahroum.