'Testament' definitions:
Definition of 'testament'
(from WordNet)
noun
A profession of belief; "he stated his political testament"
noun
A legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die [syn: will, testament]
noun
Strong evidence for something; "his easy victory was a testament to his skill"
noun
Either of the two main parts of the Christian Bible
Definition of 'Testament'
From: GCIDE
- Testament \Tes"ta*ment\, n. [F., fr. L. testamentum, fr. testari to be a witness, to make one's last will, akin to testis a witness. Cf. Intestate, Testify.]
- 1. (Law) A solemn, authentic instrument in writing, by which a person declares his will as to disposal of his estate and effects after his death. [1913 Webster]
- Note: This is otherwise called a will, and sometimes a last will and testament. A testament, to be valid, must be made by a person of sound mind; and it must be executed and published in due form of law. A man, in certain cases, may make a valid will by word of mouth only. See Nuncupative will, under Nuncupative. [1913 Webster]
- 2. One of the two distinct revelations of God's purposes toward man; a covenant; also, one of the two general divisions of the canonical books of the sacred Scriptures, in which the covenants are respectively revealed; as, the Old Testament; the New Testament; -- often limited, in colloquial language, to the latter. [1913 Webster]
- He is the mediator of the new testament . . . for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament. --Heb. ix. 15. [1913 Webster]
- Holographic testament, a testament written wholly by the testator himself. --Bouvier. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'testament'
From: Easton
- Testament occurs twelve times in the New Testament (Heb. 9:15, etc.) as the rendering of the Gr. diatheke, which is twenty times rendered "covenant" in the Authorized Version, and always so in the Revised Version. The Vulgate translates incorrectly by testamentum, whence the names "Old" and "New Testament," by which we now designate the two sections into which the Bible is divided. (See BIBLE.)