Wordwyrt

witness

/ˈwɪtnəs/WIT-nuhs
/ˈwɪtnəs/WIT-nuhs

Meaningto know

Common meaning: someone who sees an event

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishwitan‘to know’sourceB&T
  2. Old Englishmeaning shiftsto know → testimonywitnes‘testimony’sourceB&T
  3. Englishmeaning shiftstestimony → someone who sees an eventwitness‘someone who sees an event’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English witan ‘to know’.

Roots

  • witan Old English “to know”

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