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vouch

verb
/ˈvaʊt͡ʃ/US

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English vouchen (“to call, summon; to provide; to make available, proffer; to affirm, declare formally”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vocher, voucher, woucher, and Old French vocher, voucher, vochier (“to call, summon; to claim; to call upon, invoke; to denounce”) [and other forms], from Vulgar Latin *vocicāre, derived from Latin vocāre (“to call, summon; to call upon, invoke; to designate, name; to bring or put (into a condition or state”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to sound out; to speak”). Verb sense 8.1 (“to summon (someone) into court to establish a warranty of title to land”) in the form vouch to warrant or vouch to warranty is a calque from Anglo-Norman and Old French voucher a garant. The noun is derived from the verb.

  1. derived from *wekʷ-✻ — “to sound out; to speak”
  2. derived from voco — “to call, summon; to call upon, invoke; to designate, name; to bring or put (into a condition or state”
  3. derived from *vocico✻
  4. derived from vochier — “to call, summon; to claim; to call upon, invoke; to denounce”
  5. derived from vochier
  6. inherited from vouchen — “to call, summon; to provide; to make available, proffer; to affirm, declare formally”

Definitions

  1. To call on (someone) to be a witness to something.

    • Nor need I ſpeak my Deeds, for thoſe you ſee, The Sun and Day are Witneſſes for me. Let him who fights unſeen, relate his own, And vouch the ſilent Stars, and conſcious Moon.

  2. To cite or rely on (an authority, a written work, etc.) in support of one's actions or…

    To cite or rely on (an authority, a written work, etc.) in support of one's actions or opinions.

    • But the most catholike and renoumed doctours of Christes religion in the corroboration of their argumentes and sentences, do alledge the same histories and vouche (as I mought say) to their ayde the autoritie of the writars.
    • [F]or more credit to vvhich aſſertion hee vouched ſundry books, and acts, […]

  3. To affirm or warrant the correctness or truth of (something)

    To affirm or warrant the correctness or truth of (something); also, to affirm or warrant (the truth of an assertion or statement).

    • Nay tis moſt credible, we heere receiue it, A certaintie vouch'd from our Coſin Auſtria, […]
    • Deliuer them this Paper: hauing read it, Bid them repayre to th' Market place, where I Euen in theirs, and in the Commons eares Will vouch the truth of it.
    • [T]hey have made him aſham'd firſt to Vouch the Truth of the Relation, and afterwards even to Credit it.
  4. ›+ 9 more definitions

    1. To bear witness or testify to the nature or qualities (of someone or something).

      • If a Man ſucceeds in any Attempt, though undertook with never ſo much Folly and Raſhneſs, his Succeſs ſhall vouch him a Politician; and good Luck ſhall paſs for deep Contrivance: […]

    2. To back, confirm, or support (someone or something) with credible evidence or proof.

      • [M]ee damp horror chil'd At ſuch bold words voucht with a deed ſo bold: […]

    3. Synonym of vouchsafe (“to condescendingly or graciously give or grant (something)”).

      • Our Maſter Mars Haſt vouch'd his Oracle, and to Arcite gave The grace of the Contention: So the Deities Have ſhewd due juſtice: […]

    4. To assert, aver, or declare (something).

      • [W]hat we have done None shall dare vouch, tho' it be truly known; […]

    5. In full vouch to warrant or vouch to warranty

      In full vouch to warrant or vouch to warranty: to summon (someone) into court to establish a warranty of title to land.

      • If Edwards therefore be tenant of the freehold in poſſeſſion, and John Barker be tenant in tail in remainder, here Edwards doth firſt vouch Barker, and then Barker vouches Jacob Morland the common vouchee; […]

    6. Followed by over

      Followed by over: of a vouchee (a person summoned to court to establish a warranty of title): to summon (someone) to court in their place.

    7. To guarantee legal title (to something).

      • [W]ill vouchers vouch him no more of his purchaſes & doubles then the length and breadth of a payre of Indentures?
      • If one ignorantly buyeth ſtolen Cattel, and hath them fairly vouched unto him, and publickly in an open Fair payeth Tole for them, he cannot be damnified thereby: […]

    8. Often followed by for.

      • I can vouch that he wasn’t at the scene of the crime.
      • What can you vouch againſt him, Signior Lucio? Is this the man that you did tell vs of?
      • I therefore vouch againe, That with ſome mixtures povverfull ore the blood, Or vvith ſome dram coniur'd to this effect, He vvrought vpon her.

    9. An assertion, a declaration

      An assertion, a declaration; also, a formal attestation or warrant of the correctness or truth of something.

      • VVho will beleeue thee Iſabell? My vnſoild name, th' auſteereneſſe of my life, My vouch againſt you, and my place i'th State, VVill ſo your accuſation ouer-vveigh, That you ſhall ſtifle in your ovvne report, And ſmell of calumnie.

The neighborhood

Derived

vouch for, vouched, vouching, voucher

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at vouch. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01vouch02affirm03verify04substantiate05corroborate

A definitional loop anchored at vouch. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

5 hops · closes at vouch

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA