Attest

How to spell attest

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce attest

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does attest mean?

1. verbTo declare or confirm that something is true or genuine, often formally.

Attest in a sentence

• Former colleagues can attest to her honesty and reliability at work.

• The notary will attest that both signatures on the contract are genuine.

Where does attest come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb attestari, formed from the prefix ad-, meaning 'to' or 'toward', and testari, meaning 'to bear witness'. The heart of it is the Latin noun testis, which literally meant 'a witness', the person who stands by and confirms that something is true. English took the word in through Old French and Latin scholarly use in the late 1500s, keeping the sense of formally confirming or vouching for something. The same testis root sits inside a whole family of related words, including 'testify', 'testimony', and 'protest', so they all share the idea of declaring something openly. Knowing that the spelling is simply at- joined to test (not 'tes' plus an extra ending) makes the double t at the join easy to remember.

How the word is built

• at- (variant of ad-: to, toward)
• test (from Latin testis: witness)