testament

From Middle English testament, from Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum (“the publication of a will, a will, testament, in Late Latin one of the divisions of the Bible”), from testor (“I am a witness, testify, attest, make a will”), from testis (“one who attests, a witness”).

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛs.tə.mənt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈtes.tə.mənt/

testament (plural testaments)

1. (law) A solemn, authentic instrument in writing, by which a person declares his or her will as to disposal of his or her inheritance (estate and effects) after his or her death, benefiting specified heir(s).

   Synonyms: will, last will and testament, last will

2. One of the two parts to the scriptures of the Christian religion: the New Testament, considered by Christians to be a continuation of the Hebrew scriptures, and the Hebrew scriptures themselves, which they refer to as the Old Testament.
3. A tangible proof or tribute.

   The ancient aqueducts are a testament to the great engineering skill of the Roman Empire.

   • 1976 August 28, Steven Blevins, “Ads and Beauty Contests”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 9, page 4:

     These ads are a sad testament to the paper's attitude toward gay men, and a disheartening indication of the direction GCN may be going.

4. A credo, expression of conviction.

   The prime minister's speech was a glowing testament to the cabinet's undying commitment to the royal cause.

• “testament”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “testament”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

testament (third-person singular simple present testaments, present participle testamenting, simple past and past participle testamented)

1. (intransitive) To make a will.
2. (transitive) To bequeath or leave by will.

• statement, tentmates, Amstetten

Borrowed from Latin testāmentum.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [təs.təˈmen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [təs.təˈment]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [tes.taˈment]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

testament m (plural testaments)

1. testament
2. will (document)

• Antic Testament
• Nou Testament

• “testament”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “testament”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “testament” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “testament” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Inherited from Middle Dutch testament, derived from Old French testament, derived from Latin testāmentum (“the publication of a will, a will, testament”).

• IPA^(key): /tɛs.taːˈmɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛnt
• Hyphenation: tes‧ta‧ment

testament n (plural testamenten, diminutive testamentje n)

1. (law) testament (document containing a person's will)

   Synonym: laatste wilsbeschikking

2. (biblical) testament (part of the Bible)

• Negerhollands: testament
• → Indonesian: testamen

• “testament” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

From Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum.

• IPA^(key): /tɛs.ta.mɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

testament m (plural testaments)

1. (law) testament, last will
2. legacy

• “testament”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• testamente

From Latin testāmentum, via Old Norse testament.

testament n (definite singular testamentet, indefinite plural testament or testamenter, definite plural testamenta or testamentene)

1. (law) a will (and/or) testament

• testamentere

• “testament” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• testamente

From Latin testāmentum, via Old Norse testament.

• IPA^(key): /tɛstɑˈmɛnt/

testament n (definite singular testamentet, indefinite plural testament, definite plural testamenta)

1. (law) a will, testament (declaration of disposal of inheritance)
2. (Christianity) a testament (one of the two parts of the Bible)

• “testament” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Latin testāmentum.

testament oblique singular, m (oblique plural testamenz or testamentz, nominative singular testamenz or testamentz, nominative plural testament)

1. testimony; statement

• → English: testament
• French: testament

• IPA^(key): /testaˈmɛŋt/

testament m

1. testament

Learned borrowing from Latin testāmentum.

• IPA^(key): /tɛsˈta.mɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -amɛnt
• Syllabification: tes‧ta‧ment

testament m inan (diminutive testamencik, related adjective testamentowy or testamentalny or testamentarny)

1. testament, will (formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes)
2. legacy (artistic creation or spiritual message left behind after someone's death for future generations)

• testament in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• testament in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• testament in PWN's encyclopedia

• тестамент (testament) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Borrowed from Latin testamentum.

• IPA^(key): /tes.taˈment/
• Rhymes: -ent
• Hyphenation: tes‧ta‧ment

testament n (plural testamente)

1. will

• “testament”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

From Latin testāmentum.

• IPA^(key): /testǎment/

testàment m inan (Cyrillic spelling теста̀мент)

1. (law) the (last) will (legal document)

• ȍporuka (formal, Croatia)