testified

Testified is the past tense and past participle form of the verb testify. It denotes the act of giving evidence or a sworn statement, usually in a legal setting, but it can also describe stating or affirming something as true in nonlegal contexts. When someone testifies, they present facts, observations, or beliefs under oath or solemn obligation to tell the truth.

Etymology and related forms: The verb testify comes from Middle English via Old French, ultimately from Latin testificari, meaning to bear witness. Related nouns include testimony and witness, and related verbs include testify, testifies, and testing. The form testified is commonly used with auxiliary verbs such as has testified, had testified, or will testify, and it is also followed by that-clauses or prepositional phrases, as in “testified to the accuracy of the report” or “testified that he saw the incident.”

Usage and nuances: In legal proceedings, testimony is a formal, sworn account given by a witness. Outside court, testify can describe any assertion or declaration offered as evidence or support for a claim, such as an expert’s testimony about a method or a survivor’s testimony about an event. The tone is typically neutral, whether recounting what was testified or noting that someone testified on a matter.

Examples: The witness testified that the defendant was at the scene. Researchers testified to the reliability of the data. He testified that he had not seen the document before.