witness

witness 见证

wit,看，-ness,名词后缀。引申词义见证。

witness

witness: [OE] Witness originally meant ‘knowledge’ or ‘wisdom’; it was simply an abstract noun formed from wit. This was extended via ‘knowledge gained by observation’ to ‘testimony’ in the Old English period, and by the beginning of the Middle English period ‘person who gives testimony’ was well established.
=> wit

witness (n.)

Old English witnes "attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;" also "one who so testifies;" originally "knowledge, wit," formed from wit (n.) + -ness. Christian use (late 14c.) is as a literal translation of Greek martys (see martyr). Witness stand is recorded from 1853.

witness (v.)

c. 1300, "bear testimony," from witness (n.). Meaning "affix one's signature to (a document) to establish its identity" is from early 14c. Meaning "see or know by personal presence, observe" is from 1580s. Related: Witnessed; witnessing.

1. His girlfriend had gone into the witness box and taken the oath.

他的女朋友进入证人席并立了誓。

2. The plaintiff's sole witness, a gambler and layabout, was easily discredited.

原告唯一的证人嗜赌成性，游手好闲，其证词一下子就被推翻了。

3. The convictions rest solely on disputed witness and confessional statements.

仅仅根据有争议的目击者证言和供词就定了罪。

4. Too often children are witness to a disturbing amount of violence.

孩子们经常会目睹暴力事件，其数量之多令人不安。

5. One eye-witness said the rioters were engaged in an orgy of destruction.

一位目击者称暴徒肆无忌惮地到处进行破坏。

【look, see, observe, watch, witness】
这组词都有“看”的意思，其区别是：
look: 侧看“重”的动作。
see: 指看见。
observe: 侧重以客观的态度进行观察。
watch: 指用眼睛跟随某物，以便对每一个变化、运动等进行观察。
witness: 指当场看见，亲眼看见。

【testimony, evidence, proof, witness】
这组词都有“证据、见证”的意思，其区别是：
testimony: 指证据、证词，多系法律用语。
evidence: 普通用词，在法律上指能起证明作用的，如证明、公证书以及所有的实物东西等。在生活中指任何一样可证明某一件事的真实性的东西。
proof: 指足以直接证明某事为某事实的依据，侧重作为充分证据所导致的结果。
witness: 指证据或证人，尤指后者，且有亲眼见到之意。