Testimony, Testify, Testament, Testis, Testes

[skinem]

I was listening to Neal Boortz the other day and he began discussing the word testimony which got me to looking.
They all seem to spring from the Latin testis which got me wondering, and I think ol' Neal may be right in his attestation.
He said that it all comes from the ancient method of taking an oath. As there were no Bibles yet to place one's hands on, people, when taking an oath used to place their hand upon one's, ahem, (cough) testicles. There is Biblical support for this in the Old Testament, as well as other secular sources.

I think with the root word for the list of words in the subject being the same, I think Boortz is right.


As an aside, with the issues around Illinois' former governor, their current senator, etc., it has been suggested the word testimony be changed to testifony...

[Slava]

I believe this is a twisted, if not reverse, etymology. These words all come from the same root, but aren't necessarily so interconnected. From what I understand, testes are what give testimony to the manhood of the male child. I'm not too convinced by the position of the hands bit, either. That comes off as being too pat, as folk etymology often is.

[LukeJavan8]

[quote="skinem"]I was listening to Neal Boortz the other day and he began discussing the word testimony which got me to looking.
They all seem to spring from the Latin testis which got me wondering, and I think ol' Neal may be right in his attestation.
He said that it all comes from the ancient method of taking an oath. As there were no Bibles yet to place one's hands on, people, when taking an oath used to place their hand upon one's, ahem, (cough) testicles. There is Biblical support for this in the Old Testament, as well as other secular sources.

I think with the root word for the list of words in the subject being the same, I think Boortz is right.


[quote]




Found in the story of Abraham in Genesis.

[Stargzer]

The Maven at Random House weighed in on Slava's side (on Valentine's Day, of all days!).

[Slava]

The Maven at Random House weighed in on Slava's side (on Valentine's Day, of all days!).

Nice to know I'm not completely off my rocker. Sliding, I'm sure, but not off it yet.

It is, still and all, an interesting collection of words, all with a common background, that most of us would never think of as being related.

[misterdoe]

I believe this is a twisted, if not reverse, etymology. These words all come from the same root, but aren't necessarily so interconnected. From what I understand, testes are what give testimony to the manhood of the male child. I'm not too convinced by the position of the hands bit, either. That comes off as being too pat, as folk etymology often is.

There is a scripture (I'd have to look it up) where Abraham is cited as putting his hand "on his inner thigh" to swear to something.

EDIT: I didn't look at the replies -- I see LukeJavan has already "testified" to this.

[MTC]

In further "support" of Skinem's provacitive theory about early methods of oath taking, a Google search of "p lace hands on testicles while swearing oath" yields a trove. If this method were employed, it would perhaps explain why oaths were taken infrequently and certainly with more sincerity. One imagines the Presidential Oath of Office, for instance...

[Slava]

In further "support" of Skinem's provacitive theory about early methods of oath taking, a Google search of "p lace hands on testicles while swearing oath" yields a trove. If this method were employed, it would perhaps explain why oaths were taken infrequently and certainly with more sincerity. One imagines the Presidential Oath of Office, for instance...

Whatever certain people may think, not everyone has the cajones to take such an oath. What happens when we get a female president?