Evidence

How to spell evidence

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce evidence

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does evidence mean?

1. nounThe available facts or information indicating whether a belief or claim is true.
2. verbTo be or to show clear proof of something.

Evidence in a sentence

• noun

  The detective gathered enough evidence to charge the suspect.

• verb

  The rising sales figures evidence a real recovery.

• noun

  There is little evidence that the new policy reduced costs.

• verb

  Her careful notes evidence a thorough investigation.

Where does evidence come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb videre, meaning 'to see', combined with the prefix ex-, meaning 'out'. From these came evidens, an adjective describing something so visible it was 'obvious' or 'clearly seen', literally that which stands out to the eye. The related noun evidentia carried the sense of clearness or proof, and English took the word in through Old French during the 1300s. The same videre root sits inside a large family of English words, including vision, video, provide and supervise, all built on the idea of seeing. Because the original sense was 'plainly visible', evidence came to mean the visible facts that make a case clear, and the spelling keeps the vid 'see' core that links it to that whole family.

How the word is built

• e- (from ex-: out)
• vid (from videre: to see)
• -ence (noun suffix)