verifyv.
/ˈvɛrᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈvɛrəˌfaɪ/ 1.
a. transitive. Law. To prove by good evidence or valid testimony; to testify or affirm formally or upon oath. Also const. that, and to with infinitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > evidence > give evidence of [verb (transitive)] > confirm by evidence or testimony
verifya1325
instruct1594
a1325 [implied in: MS Rawl. B. 520 f. 47v Wan ha bez i cleped to uerefihinge. þoru þat þulke i vochede weren in present. (at verifying n.)].
c1450 Godstow Reg. 638 [The abbess appeared, denying] þat she leuied or causid ony noiinge or turnid ony course of watur as hit was presentid afore, & þat she is a-redi to verifie.
c1482 in Cal. Proc. Chanc. Q. Eliz. (1830) II. Pref. 65 Alle whiche maters the seid Richard is redy to verifie and prove, as this court woll awarde.
1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 12 ⁋1 To the intent to maynteyne, upholde, and veryfie suche reporte as he had made.
1561 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1843) III. ii. 289 The saidis George and Wiliam diaconis warefyis That thai lawfullie chergit ye said Mr. Thomas Meffen..to compeyr.
1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue Brief Descr. sig. iijv Iohn Careles in his examination by Doctor Martin verifieth that to bee true, whiche..those two were burdened withall by Steuen Norish.
1632–3 MS Canterbury Marriage Licences Catherine Whitfield..is expressly consenting to this intended marriage, as is verified by Thomas Hatcher.
1689 Acta Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 66/1 The Heraulds who denunced the viscount of Dundee at the mercat cross..did verefie þeir executiones upon oath.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 312 In any stage of the pleadings, when either side advances or affirms any new matter, he usually..avers it to be true; ‘and this he is ready to verify’.]
1786 E. Burke Articles of Charge against W. Hastings in Wks. (1815) XII. 192 The said charge to be verified by the oath of the said Frazer.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 1028 He must be prepared with a cautioner..at giving in his defences, unless he instantly verify a defence excluding the action.
1884 Law Times Rep. 10 May 320 The Court..ordered that the receiver should withdraw and verify his accounts by affidavit.
b. In general use: To testify to, to assert, to affirm or confirm, as true or certain. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > support, corroborate > on basis of truth
verify1525
soothea1556
vouch1591
warrant1605
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cc. 252 b/2 The landes, seignories, lordshippes, and baronyes in Acquytayne, whiche they verifyed to pertaygne to the kynge and realme of Englande.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. D3, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) Him: whose approoued fidelity for that it remayneth of no small record to my certaine knowledge, I wil presume to verefie.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxix. xlix. 1054 At first the tidings seemed so incredible, that the formost messenger was held..for a vaine lyar..: but after that there came one after another, and all with one voice verefied and affirmed the same.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 19 So that it may as truly be verified of the Serpent as it was of Esau, that the hands of all men and beastes are against them.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 239 This Novice at his confession made this knowne and after verified as much to the Guardian and chiefe Friars.
1867 G. Meredith Vittoria III. xxxix. 130 ‘Does Major Weisspriess know it to be true?’ The question came from Anna. Weisspriess coolly verified it, on the faith of a common servant's communication.
c. To support or back up by testimony.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [verb (transitive)] > support by testimony
verifya1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. ii. 19 I haue euer verified my Friends..with all the size that verity Would without lapsing suffer. View more context for this quotation
2. To show to be true by demonstration or evidence; to confirm the truth or authenticity of; to substantiate:
a. Of persons. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > prove, demonstrate [verb (transitive)]
i-sothea925
soothec950
fanda1000
kitheOE
betell1048
showc1175
prove?c1225
treousec1275
stablisha1325
approve1340
verifyc1386
justifya1393
tryc1412
answer?a1425
appreve?c1450
to make gooda1470
convictc1475
averifyc1503
arguea1513
find1512
pree1515
comprobate1531
demonstrate1538
conclude1549
convince1555
argument1558
evict1571
avoucha1593
evidencea1601
remonstrate1601
clear1605
attaint1609
monstrate1609
evince1610
evince1611
improve1613
remonstrance1621
to make out1653
ascertain1670
to bring off1674
to make (something) to through1675
render1678
substantiatea1691
establisha1704
to bring out1727
realize1763
validate1775
c1386 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Prol. & Tale 515 As witnessen thise olde wyse; And that ful soone I wol it verifie In this Chanon.
1406 T. Hoccleve La Male Regle 35 ‘Prosperitee is blynd’:..And verifie I can wel it is so.
c1425 J. Audelay XI Pains of Hell 211 in Old Eng. Misc. 217 In erþ, þe fyndis þem verefyd, [The soul] Dispisid godis laus euerechon.
c1500 Melusine (1895) i. 16 Be nat you displesed yf I haue recounted vnto you this auenture, For it is for to adiouste more of feyth, & for to veryfy thistory.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 250 This suith example..I verifie ma richt weill be the Britis.
1582 T. Bentley et al. Monument of Matrones iii. 286 Verifie Lord the words on me, drawe me after thee.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 277 I bring you Witnesses Twice fifteene thousand hearts of Englands breed,..To verifie our title with their liues.
1627 W. Duncomb tr. V. d'Audiguier Tragi-comicall Hist. our Times v. 87 [He] only desired to cleer so dangerous a suspicion, and never to speake of it but when he could verifie it.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd i. 133 Gabriel this day by proof thou shalt behold..how I begin To verifie that solemn message late, On which I sent thee. View more context for this quotation
1782 J. Brown Compend. View Nat. & Revealed Relig. v. ii. 430 The covenant-form of this law is not changed; and God hath verified it in the..dreadful sufferings of his only begotten Son.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) The first act of the house of representatives is to verify the powers, by exhibiting their credentials to a committee of the house, or other proper authority.
b. Of things, or in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > furnish evidence, vouch for
verifyc1449
warrantc1480
able?1489
witness1526
support1581
license1694
vouch1755
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 53 Therfore neuer neither of tho ij. textis..serueth neither forto grounde neither forto verrifie the seid firste opinioun.
c1475 Mankind 9 in Macro Plays 1 Þat may be seyde & veryfyede: mankynde was dere bought.
1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 212 In to thy mowis and mokis, It may be verifyit that thy wit is thin.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cl If this myght be verefied of vs in dede, it were..detestable be heard of.
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries ii. 63 The prince greatly marueileth that such great learned men..would set downe and propound such matters, as neuer can nor shalbe any way verified.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 142 The knowledge of the publique Registers, publique Counsels, publique Ministers, and publique Seales; by which all Lawes are sufficiently verified.
1756 Mitchell in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. IV. 376 All which has been verified by the examination of the persons in whose company he was.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 629 The strongest evidence by which the fact of a death was ever verified.
1876 J. B. Mozley Univ. Serm. (1877) iii. 55 The same scene of action which brought the rational expectation brings also the event which tests and verifies the correctness of it.
3. † d. reflexive. To demonstrate or prove (oneself) to be of a certain character. Obsolete.
a. In passive: To be proved true or correct by the result or event, or by some confirming fact or circumstance; to be fulfilled or accomplished in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > prove, demonstrate [verb (intransitive)] > be proved to be
provec1300
verifya1387
approve1587
improve1612
bear1710
to turn up1756
to turn out1780
wash1849
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 213 So þat now beeþ ferified þe vers þat Hildebertus..made.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxiv. 154 Þus es þe prophecy verified.
1462–3 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 268 Scripture saithe heritage holdyn wrongfully Schal never cheve..As hathe be verified late ful playne.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 8 That is ane office of ane angel, to..bring the hye new tydingis, the quhilk js verifyit be the haly writt.
1527 Prose Life St. Brandan (Percy) 49 Than the sayenge of Saynt Brandon was veryfyed.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 38 The old Prouerbe is herein verified: the ill weede ouercroppeth the good corne.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iii. §6. 192 The like hath been verified time after time.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 182 So spake this Oracle, then verifi'd When Jesus..Saw Satan fall like Lightning down from Heav'n. View more context for this quotation
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. vi. 115 This Reasoning from Fact is confirmed, and..verified, by other Facts.
1799 H. Lee Canterbury Tales (ed. 2) I. 221 Of these doubts one only was verified.
1812 H. Smith & J. Smith Rejected Addr. 55 Professions lavishly effused and parsimoniously verified are..inconsistent.
1856 C. M. Yonge Cameos xxxvi, in Monthly Packet May 321 The Pope's suspicions were verified.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 226 The picture..is verified in the course of the dialogue.
b. Const. in, of, on, or upon.
ΚΠ
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 8 And þe pope is Petir's vicar, þerfor it be howfiþ to trowe þat þis feiþ is verifiȝed of him.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 4 The prophecyes..be verifyit jn ȝour maist noble and worthy princehede.
1530 J. Rastell New Bk. Purgatory i. vii. sig. a5v Euery thynge in the worlde is verefyed vpon one of them.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxviv God graunt that proposycion to be verifyed in me.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 121 And as this was spoken of the Phariseys, I feare me it may be likewise verified in vs.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxix. 191 That which is vttered of the time is not verified of time it selfe, but agreeth vnto those things which are in time.
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ v. xxxix. 43 If he doth, I feare it wilbe verified in him that a ‘foole and his money is soon parted’.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 92 It is true, they..made Fences; but Solomon's Words were never better verified than in them.
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 191 I..content myself with the truth only of the remark, which is verified in every lane and by-lane of Paris.
c. Used actively of the circumstances, person, etc., serving as proof or confirmation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > prove, demonstrate [verb (transitive)] > be proof of
provea1200
showa1325
declarec1400
verifyc1430
givec1449
persuadea1525
arguea1538
demonstrate1572
argue1585
put1596
evidence1611
evident1643
to make out1795
c1430 Hymns Virg. 127 For soth then y sobbed Veryfyyng thys wordys.
c1450 Mirk's Festial 152 The fyrst [cause] ys, forto verefy þe fayþ of his resurreccyon.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 765/2 He hath nowe verifyed my sayenges.
1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man ii. 71 The Temple fell downe, and verified the answere of the Oracle.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes i. §25. 37 The issue verifieth thus much.
1659 J. Milton Considerations touching Hirelings 9 A voice [was] heard from heaven..crying aloud, This day is poison pourd into the church. Which the event soon after verifi'd.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iii. 177 So shalt thou best fullfil, best verifie The Prophets old, who sung thy endless raign. View more context for this quotation
1785 J. Trusler Mod. Times III. 47 The case of Wheble, the bookseller, verifies this assertion.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xv. 308 The measurements of Agassiz..completely verify the anticipations of Rendu.
1870 J. Bruce Life Gideon xiii. 229 The people themselves did verify this pregnant saying of the Lord by their own immediate conduct.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > prove, demonstrate [verb (reflexive)]
approve1559
verifyc1595
prove1895
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxvi. 29 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 102 And so him self [sc. the Lord] most terrible doth verify, In terrifying kings.
1605 M. Drayton Poems sig. Ff3 Fortune..Turning herselfe as she away would flie,..As what she was herselfe to verifie.
4.
a. To ascertain or test the accuracy or correctness of (something), esp. by examination or by comparison with known data, an original, or some standard; to check or correct in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > try or test [verb (transitive)] > test accuracy or correctness of
verifya1527
scan?c1550
a1527 R. Thorne in R. Hakluyt Divers Voy. (1582) sig. C3 For this cause can be no certaine situation of yt coast & Ilands, til this difference betwixte them be verified.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 162 When you will verifie your nedle..you shall use the healpe of the Sunne.
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. ii. i. 67 To verify these protracted Distances, go to any of the Objects, as D, take the Bearing of X and Y, to find if they agree with the Protraction.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 18 Let us now proceed to verify the elongation of the Poles.
1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 127 Hours..spent in casting up and verifying accounts.
1834 H. Martineau Demerara (new ed.) iii. 43 I have seen a calculation and I mean to verify it.
1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. v. 237 Capt. Dillon was..sent back..to verify the reported existence of some of the survivors of the wreck.
1875 Chambers's Jrnl. No. 133. 7 A set of instruments which have been properly verified at Kew Observatory.
b. To establish by investigation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]
seekc900
seeOE
searcha1382
takea1382
inquire1390
undergrope?a1412
explore1531
to pry out1548
to scan out1548
to hunt out1576
sound1596
exquire1607
pervestigate1610
pump1611
trace1642
probe1649
to hunt up1741
to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770
verify1801
to get a load of1929
sus1966
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > assure, make certain [verb (transitive)] > establish as fact, ascertain
trowa901
lookc1175
take1469
ascertaina1513
certain1523
favoura1530
establish1533
try1542
try1582
tie1623
secure1630
to make sure1644
true1647
determine1650
determinate1666
authenticate1753
constatea1773
verify1801
validate1957
1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 5 386 A medical committee was appointed to verify the phænomena which precede, accompany, and follow the Vaccine Inoculation.
1854 C. D. Badham Prose Halieutics 537 In reading over various poetic bills of fare preserved by Athenæus, we have verified twenty-six species in one Attic supper.
1880 R. Barwell Aneurism 52 If..the disease [be] verified as seated on the second or third part of the subclavian vessel.
5. To give the appearance of truth to; to cause to appear true or authentic. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, simulate, feign [verb (transitive)] > true or better condition
vampa1658
verify1768
a1586 [implied in: Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. E2 Zopirus..fayned himselfe in extreame disgrace of his King: for verifying of which, he caused his own nose and eares to be cut off. (at verifying n.)].
1768 H. Walpole Hist. Doubts 99 All Henry's art and power could never verify the cheat of Perkin.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. i. 9 He assumed the name and profession of his friend Dudley, having command enough of the pencil to verify his pretended character to his host of Allonby.
Derivatives
ˈverifying adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > [adjective]
demonstrativec1405
showablea1500
declarativea1536
showing1552
probatory1593
convictive1634
verifying1634
evincing1641
demonstrating1648
endeictic1656
probative1678
substantiative1794
proving1824
demonstrational1833
verificatory1834
verificative1860
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect i. xii. 55 A false asseveration usually winneth more beleefe than two verifying negatives can resettle.
1870 J. Bruce Life Gideon xxiii. 412 An appendix..of verifying deeds and documents.
1884 R. Burn in Athenæum 15 Nov. 630/3 Its [i.e. archæology's] verifying and corrective spirit in historical investigations.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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