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Origin and history of testament

testament(n.)

late 13c., in law, "last will, expressing the final disposition of one's property," from Latin testamentum "a last will, publication of a will," from testari "make a will, be witness to," from testis "witness," generally accepted to be from PIE *tri-st-i- "third person standing by," from root *tris- "three" (see three) on the notion of "third person, disinterested witness."

Use of testament in reference to the two divisions of the Bible (early 14c.) is from Late Latin vetus testamentum and novum testamentum, loan-translations of Greek palaia diathēkē and kainē diathēkē. But here Late Latin testamentum is a confusion of the two meanings of Greek diathēkē, which meant both "covenant, dispensation" and "will, testament." Testament had been used in the sense of "covenant between God and mankind" in English from early 14c. (as in the account of the Last Supper; see testimony), but the word subsequently was interpreted as Christ's "last will."

also from late 13c.

Entries linking to testament

testimony(n.)

c. 1400, testimonie, "proof or demonstration of some fact, evidence, piece of evidence;" early 15c., in law, "declaration or sworn statement of a witness," from Old North French testimonie (Old French testimoine, testemoigne, 11c.), from Latin testimonium "evidence, proof, witness, attestation," from testis "a witness, one who attests" (see testament) + -monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition (see -mony). The earlier form in English, from Old French, was testimoigne (c. 1300). The etymology of this word is unlikely to have had anything directly to do with testes (see testis).

The earliest attested sense in English is "the Ten Commandments" (late 14c.), from Vulgate use of Late Latin testimonium, which, along with Greek to martyrion (Septuagint), translates of Hebrew 'eduth "attestation, testimony" (of the Decalogue), from 'ed "witness." The evangelical sense of "open attestation or confession" (of faith) is by 1540s.

three(num.)

"1 more than two; the number which is one more than two; a symbol representing this number;" Old English þreo, fem. and neuter (masc. þri, þrie), from Proto-Germanic *thrijiz (source also of Old Saxon thria, Old Frisian thre, Middle Dutch and Dutch drie, Old High German dri, German drei, Old Norse þrir, Danish tre). This is from PIE root *trei- "three" (source also of Sanskrit trayas, Avestan thri, Greek treis, Latin tres, Lithuanian trys, Old Church Slavonic trye, Irish and Welsh tri "three").

3-D (adj.) is attested by 1952, abbreviation of three-dimensional (1878); the three dimensions were so called from late 14c. The clothing three-piece suit is recorded by 1897. The three-martini lunch is attested from 1972.

Three cheers for ______ is recorded from 1751. Three-ring circus is recorded by 1898. Three musketeers translates French les trois mousquetaires, title of the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas père.

Three-sixty "complete turnaround" is from 1927, originally among aviators, in reference to the number of degrees in a full circle.