Testi Words: “attest” to “testosterone”
testi-, test- (Latin: a witness, one who stands by; testicle, one of the two oval male gonads supported in the scrotum by its tissues and suspended by the spermatic cord).
The word testicles comes from Latin testiculi meaning “little witnesses”. All such test words; including protest, protestant, testify, and attest have this testicle connection.
There was a time when the feminist Ms. magazine published a letter that started: “I protest the use of the word ‘testimony’ when referring to a woman’s statements, because its root is ‘testes’which has nothing to do with being a female. Why not use ‘ovarimony’?”
—Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson
(New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1997), p. 662.
It is stated that under Roman law no man was admissible as a witness unless his testicles were present as evidence or “witnesses” of one’s virility because only verified men were allowed to give witness, or to testify, in legal matters. To swear by one’s testicles was an ancient form of oath. To detest, at root, means “to bear witness against;” therefore, to curse, and implicitly, to hate to the bottom of one’s testicles.
Also do a search for orchido- to read about other “testicle”words.
This will take you to the main dictionary directory for a link to the "orchido-" section as listed in the Dictionary "O" words section.
attest, attestant, attestation, attestor:
1. To show that something exists or is true or valid.
2. To state that something is true, especially in a formal written statement.
contest, contested, contesting, contests:
1. A struggle between rival or opposing individuals, organizations, or forces for victory or control.
2. To take part in a contest or competition. [Directly or via French from Latin contestari, “to begin a lawsuit by calling witnesses together”, from testari “to be a witness”].
contestant:
1. Someone who takes part in a competition.
2. Someone who enters a formal challenge to something such as a will, verdict, or decision.
detest, detested, detested, detester:
To dislike someone or something very much [Via French detester from Latin detestari “to bear witness against, denounce” from testis “witness”.
detestable, detestability:
Causing or deserving intense dislike.
detestation:
1. An intense loathing or hatred for someone or something.
2. Something that, or someone who, is detested.
intestacy:
The condition of having died without making a legally valid will.
intestate:
1. Not having made a legally valid will.
2. Someone in a legally valid will.
3. Someone who has died without having made a legally valid will.
protest, protestant, protester:
To express strong disapproval of or disagreement with something, or to refuse to obey or accept something often by making a formal statement or taking action in public.
Protestant:
A member or adherent of any denomination of the Western Christian church that rejects papal authority and some fundamental Roman Catholic doctrines, and believes in justification by faith. The formulation of Protestants’ beliefs began with the Reformation in the 16th century.
Protestantism:
Adherence to Protestant beliefs.
protestation:
A strong or firm declaration that something is true or false.
testalgia:
Pain in the testicle.
testament:
1. A formal statement or speech outlining beliefs.
2. In law, an old word for a legal will, used most often in the phrase “last will and testament”.
testamur:
English university certificate; from Latin testamur, “we attest, testify”; from testari; so called from the word testamur used in the text of the certificate.
testate:
Someone who has made a legally valid will.
testator:
Someone, especially a man, who has made a legally valid will.
testatrix:
A woman who has made a legally valid will.
testectomy:
Excision of the testis or testes; castration.
testicle:
The male gonad or sperm-producing gland (testis) usually with its surrounding membranes, particularly in humans or other higher vertebrates.
testicond:
1. The condition of having the testicles remain undescended, which is abnormal in man and in many animals.
2. Having the testes retained within the abdominal cavity, as occurs normally in many mammals, such as the elephant and armadilo.
testicular:
A reference to the testicles.
testiculate, testiculated:
Having testicles.
testiculoma:
A testicular tumor.
testiculus:
A diminutive of the testis.
testiferous:
Opposite of hysterical.
testify:
To make a factual statement based on personal experience or to declare something to be true from personal experience.
testimonial:
A statement backing up a claim or supporting a fact.
testimony:
1. Evidence given by a competent witness under oath or affirmation in a court of law; as distinguished from evidence derived from writings, and other sources.
2. Something that supports a fact or a claim.
testis (singular),
testes (plural):
1. In law, a witness; one who gives evidence in court, or who witnesses a document; witnesses.
2. In medicine, either of the paired male reproductive glands, roundish in shape, that produce sperm and male sex hormones, and hang in a small sac (scrotum).
3. The male gonad or testicle that is one of two reproductive glands located in the scrotum that produces the male reproductive cells (spermatozoa) and the male hormones testosterone and inhibin. [From Latin, “a witness” because it “bears witness” to a man’s virility].
1. An androgen isolated from the testes of a number of animals, including man, and considered to be the principal testicular hormone produced in men.
2. It accelerates growth in tissues on which it acts and stimulates blood flow.
3. It stimulates and promotes the growth of secondary sexual characteristics and is essential for normal sexual behavior and the occurrence of erections.
4. It is responsible for deepening of the male voice at puberty, greater muscular development in men, development of the beard and pubic hair, and the distribution of fat in adult men.