Etymograph

English

attest

Attest comes from Latin attestor ‘to witness to, bear witness’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand (up)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand (up)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trito-sth₂-o-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tristos1‘witness’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*terstis1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtestis1‘witness’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtestor1‘bear witness’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEattestor2‘to witness to, bear witness’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600attester2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1599attest2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin attestor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English attest
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “Dishonour not your Mothers: now attest that those whom…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, Latin attestor‘to stand (up)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trito-sth₂-o-sWiktionary, Latin attestorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tristosWiktionary, Latin attestor‘witness’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*terstisWiktionary, Latin attestorreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtestisWiktionary, Latin attestor‘witness’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtestorWiktionary, Latin attestor‘bear witness’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEattestorWiktionary, English attest‘to witness to, bear witness’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600attesterWiktionary, English attest
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1599attestWiktionary, English attest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “Dishonour not your Mothers: now attest that those whom…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand (up)’

post, system, stay, state, stand, distance, rest, assistant, assistance, stadium, instance, constitution, stood, stable, assist, establishment, consistent, stability, instant, establish, substance, distant, insist, destiny, destination, consist, resist, stem, static, prostitution, persistent, stud, persist, stationary, stool, extant, substitution, prostitute, stamina, stale, 151 more

through Latin testis ‘witness’

testimony, contestant, testimonial, testicular, testicle, testis, 11 more

through Latin testor ‘bear witness’

contest, testament, detest, testator, 7 more

Today it means

verb To affirm to be correct, true, or genuine.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “attest”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin attestor. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- / attest

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