Trivia: The Ballsy Origin of “Testify”



One theory is that the word "testify" was derived from the ancient Roman custom of men holding their testicles with their right hands before giving testimony in court.

And why did the Romans have to hold their balls before they could testify in court? It was so that eunuchs and women were excluded.

We should say that etymologists aren’t unified on this: some say that the origin of testify came from the latin "testis" which means "third person standing by" or "witness." But that’s boring. (Source: American Heirtage Dictionary of the English Language)


Previous Post
Get Neatorama by RSS or email
 Next Post
this post? Please email a friend  +reddit  +SU 
Posted on March 5, 2008 at 5:14 pm by Alex
Category: Book & Lit, Daily Trivia

From our new online store:
» More fun T-shirt designs at Neatorama Online Store

6 comments to "Trivia: The Ballsy Origin of “Testify”"

  • Stabosaurus
    March 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm

    This etymology is backwards. “Bear witness” is the older meaning of the root. “Testicle” is a diminutive that means “little witness” (to the owners masculinity).

  • TT
    March 5th, 2008 at 10:57 pm

    They mean TESTES, not testis, as in bollocks, as it should be!

    Who the hell let women into the courtroom, anyways? Who let women have power to decide anything? They’re way too fucking emotional and cannot decide anything practically. hahahahahaha j/k

  • Knitterman
    March 6th, 2008 at 9:01 am

    A quick read of Genesis 24 (in the Christian Bible) will show that swearing by male “privates” (either one’s own, or the other person to whom one is swearing) is an old practice. Abraham told his servant to place his hand “under my thigh”, which is considered a euphemism to describe what is actually being held when one puts his hand under another man’s thigh.

  • Robin
    March 6th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    Knitterman is right. That method of swearing an oath is the origin of the word “Testament”.

  • Christophe
    March 6th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Michael Jackson is swearing a lot.

  • Karen
    March 20th, 2008 at 9:20 pm

    I found this link to be a pretty interesting take on the duality of this term

Want your own avatar? Get one for free at Gravatar!


Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. We don't censor comment based on your point of view but comments that are abusive, use excessive profanity, or contain off-topic links may get edited or deleted. On some posts, it may take up several minutes for you comment to show up.


Stay updated on the comments in this post with Comment RSS