Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Affidavit |
AffidavitNoun1. Written declaration made under oath; a written statement sworn to be true before someone legally authorized to administer an oath. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "affidavit" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
Etymology: Affidavit \Af`fi*da"vit\, noun. [from Late Latin expression affidavit he has made oath, perfect tense of affidare. See Affiance, Affy.]. (Websters 1913) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Finance | A written statement, sworn or affirmed, for example concerning the ownership and origin of securities. Source: European Union. (references) |
| A sworn statement in writing before an authorized official, usually a notary. (references) | |
Law | A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
One use of affidavits is to allow evidence to be gathered from witnesses or participants that may not be available to testify in person before the court. In some countries, criminal defendants routinely execute anyone that testifies or will testify against them.
In American jurisprudence, it is very unusual to allow an unsupported affidavit to be entered into evidence with regard to material facts which may be dispositive of the matter at bar. Affidavits from persons who are dead or otherwise incapacitated, or who cannot be located or made to appear may be accepted by the court, but usually only in the presence of corroborating evidence. A formerly written affidavit, which reflected a better grasp of the facts closer in time to the actual events, may be used to refresh a witness' recollection. Materials used to refresh recollection are admissible as evidence.
Some types of motions will not be accepted by a court unless accompanied by an independent sworn statement or other evidence, in support of the need for the motion. In such a case, the court will accept an affidavit from the filing attorney in support of the motion, as certain assumtions are made, to wit: The affidavit in place of sworn testimony promotes judicial economy. The lawyer is an officer of the court and knows that a false swearing by him, if found out, could be grounds for severe penalty up to and including disbarment. The lawyer if called upon would be able to present independent and more detailed evidence to prove the facts set forth in his affidavit.
See: Evidence
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Affidavit."
Synonym: AffidavitSynonym: attestation (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Affirmation | Depose, depone, aver, avow, avouch, asseverate, swear; make oath, take one's oath; make an affidavit, swear an affidavit, put in an affidavit; take one's Bible oath, kiss the book, vow, vitam impendere vero; swear till one is black in the face, swear till one is blue in the face, swear till all's blue; be sworn, call Heaven to witness; vouch, warrant, certify, assure, swear by bell book and candle. |
Asseveration, adjuration, swearing, oath, affidavit; deposition; (record); avouchment; assurance; protest, protestation; profession; acknowledgment; (assent); legal pledge, pronouncement; solemn averment, solemn avowal, solemn declaration. | |
Lawsuit | Pleadings; declaration, bill, claim; proces verbal; bill of right, information, corpus delicti; affidavit, state of facts; answer, reply, replication, plea, demurrer, rebutter, rejoinder; surrebutter, surrejoinder. |
Record | Record, note, minute; register, registry; roll; (list); cartulary, diptych, Domesday book; catalogue raisonne; entry, memorandum, indorsement, inscription, copy, duplicate, docket; notch; (mark); muniment, deed; (security); document; deposition, proces verbal; affidavit; certificate; (evidence). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Affidavit |
| English words defined with "affidavit": affiant ♦ Stale affidavit ♦ Voluntary affidavit. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "affidavit": AFFIDAVIT MEN ♦ cursing in work ♦ to admit to probate. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "affidavit": Affiant. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Affidavit" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Dutch (affidavit), Italian (affidavit), Swedish (affidavit). |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Photograph of the affidavit charging Lee Harvey Oswald with the murder of President John F. Kennedy.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Human Rights | Belarus | In an effort to coerce the youth into signing an affidavit, the policemen handcuffed him again, forced him down on the ground, and began shooting a pistol above the boy's head. (references) |
Malaysia | Mior had sworn in an affidavit that police had threatened and abused him after he was detained in September 1998, causing him to confess falsely to having had sexual relations with the former Deputy Prime Minister. (references) | |
Poland | In 2000 several high-profile cases came before the court, including that of a Deputy Defense Minister who was judged to have lied in his affidavit; in November the Supreme Court returned the case to the appellate court, and the appeal was pending at year's end. (references) | |
Minorities | Israel and the occupied territories | In October after the expiration of the most recent extension, under instructions from the Sharon government, the State Prosecutor's Office submitted an affidavit to the High Court asking it to reject the villagers' appeal, stating that the Government had legally appropriated the land and that the precedent of returning displaced persons to their villages would be used for propaganda and political purposes by the Palestinian Authority. (references) |
Trade | Spain | The National Marine Manufacturers Association issues a sea-worthiness affidavit that is accepted by the Spanish authorities for the certificate of compliance. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Affidavit" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 98.49% of the time. "Affidavit" is used about 265 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 98.49% | 261 | 18,276 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.75% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.38% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.38% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 265 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "affidavit": affidavit by process server ♦ affidavit of means ♦ affidavit of support ♦ draw up an affidavit ♦ stale affidavit ♦ swear an affidavit ♦ take an affidavit ♦ voluntary affidavit. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
affidavit | 346 |
affidavit of support | 126 |
affidavit form | 80 |
sample affidavit | 54 |
affidavit of heirship | 42 |
small estate affidavit | 39 |
affidavit of domicile | 30 |
affidavit of support form | 21 |
write an affidavit | 17 |
affidavit form free | 17 |
affidavit example | 15 |
affidavit forgery | 14 |
affidavit service | 14 |
affidavit heirship texas | 12 |
affidavit sworn | 12 |
affidavit process server | 11 |
affidavit legal form | 10 |
financial affidavit | 10 |
affidavit death joint tenant | 9 |
affidavit survivorship | 9 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "affidavit"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | dëshmi me betim. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | писмена клетвена декларация, писмени показания. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 宣"书. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | přísežné prohlášení. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | affidavit, erklaering paa tro og love. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | beëdigde verklaring (solemn affirmation), affidavit (sworn declaration). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | گواهینامه (Certificate, Diploma), سوگندنامه , استشهاد, شهادت نامه (Certificate). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | valaehtoinen todistus. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | attestation sous serment, affirmation sous la foi du serment, affirmation (affirmation, solemn affirmation), affidavit, acte de notoriété, déclaration par écrit sous serment, déclaration jurée, déclaration assermentée. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | eidesstattliche Versicherung (identify certificate(USA), statutory declaration), eidesstattliche Erklärung (statutory declaration). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | ένορκη βεβαίωση. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ל"צ"יר בשבוע", "ו"ע" בשבוע", "צ"ר" בשבוע". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | eskü alatt írott nyilatkozat. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | surat sumpah. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | dichiarazione giurata (solemn affirmation), affidavit (solemn affirmation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 供述書 (deposition, testimony), 供述 (deposition, testimony), 宣"供述書 , 口述書 , 口書き (writing with the brush in the mouth, written confession), 口供書 (deposition), 口供 (deposition). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | きょうじゅつしょ (deposition, testimony), きょうじゅつ (deposition, testimony), くちがき (writing with the brush in the mouth, written confession), せ"せいきょうじゅつしょ, "うきょうしょ (deposition), "うきょう (Catholicism, communal, community, deposition, healthy economy, prosperous conditions, public, public service, reverberation, society, the Book of Filial Piety, width, width and narrowness, your instructions or suggestions), "うじゅつしょ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | screeuyn fo loo. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | affidavitay atestado (acknowledgement, acknowledgment, attest, certificate, docket, testimonial, testimony, verification), afidavit, acto de notoriedade (identify certificate(USA), statutory declaration), depoimento juramentado, declaraçao jurada, declaraçao ajuramentada, declaração sob o juramento do "affidavit", declaração sob compromisso de honra (solemn affirmation), declaração jurada que vale como documento público ou particular para efeitos de prova, declaração jurada, declaração (assertion, declaration, declarative, directive, outgiving, proclamation, pronouncement, protest, saying, statement), certidão de declaração feita sob juramento perante uma autoridade competente (solemn affirmation), certidão (acknowledgement, acknowledgment, certificate, receipt, testimonial, voucher). (various references) afidavit (Davy), declaraţie scrisã sub jurãmânt, declaraţie (announcement, declaration, dictum, proclamation, pronouncement, proposition, return, statement, testimony, utterance). (various references) письменное показание. (various references) pismeni iskaz, pismena izjava. (various references) affidávit, declaración jurada affidávit, declaración jurada. (various references) affidavit. (various references) yeminli belge, taahhüt (commitment, committal, engagement, pledge, stipulation, undertaking), beyanname (bill, declaration, manifesto, proclamation, specification). (various references) письмове свідчення під присягою. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | fidus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "affidavit": affidavits. (additional references) | |
| |
"Affidavit" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: aafidavit, afadavit, affadavit, affidatvit, affidavet, affidavid, affidavite, affidavity, affidevit, affidivit, afidavit, aftidavit, asffidavit. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "affidavit" (pronounced a'fudā"vut) |
| 3 | -v u t | civet, covet, pivot, private, rivet, velvet. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-d-f-f-i-i-t-v" | |
-3 letters: taffia. | |
-4 letters: davit, tafia. | |
-5 letters: adit, avid, daff, daft, data, dita, diva, fava, fiat, tiff, vita. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-d-f-f-i-i-t-v" | |
+1 letter: affidavits. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)41 66 66 69 64 61 76 69 74 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).- ..-. ..-. .. -.. .- ...- .. - |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000001 01100110 01100110 01101001 01100100 01100001 01110110 01101001 01110100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)A f f i d a v i t |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0041 0066 0066 0069 0064 0061 0076 0069 0074 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)357272757067887586 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Usage Frequency 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Translations: Ancient 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Orthography 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
