attestation

Definition

A thing that serves to bear witness, confirm, or authenticate; validation, verification, documentation.

Etymology

From Middle French attestation, from Latin attestātiō; by surface analysis, attest + -ation.

Example Sentences

• "A historical dictionary cannot do this though it cannot also neglect this aspect because the attestation of a rare meaning is bound to be very limited."
• "The eastern-most attestation of Sl skola in the meaning of synagogue appears to be in Smolensk Russian."
• "So something must have been developing over long periods empty of attestation; and whatever it was, it must (by principles to be discussed in the next section) have been a language of the usual kind."