hearsay

English

WOTD – 16 January 2016

English Wikipedia has an article on:

hearsay

From Middle English hyere-zigginge (1340), here sey (ca. 1438), from the phrase heren seien (“to hear [people] say”). Compare equally old Middle High German hœrsagen (14th c.), whence modern Hörensagen.

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪəseɪ/
(General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪɹˌseɪ/
- Audio (California): (file)
- Audio (Canada): (file)
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪəsæɪ/
Hyphenation: hear‧say

hearsay (usually uncountable, plural hearsays)

Examples (Evidence (sense 2))
A is accused of killing B. The prosecution called C as a witness, who testified that he heard from D that A killed B. C’s statement is hearsay as it is based on D’s report, which is normally inadmissible in criminal proceedings, but might be admissible in related civil proceedings.

Information that was heard by one person about another that cannot be adequately substantiated.
based on hearsay

The story turned out to be nothing but hearsay.
(law) Evidence based on the reports of others, which is normally inadmissible because it was not made under oath, rather than on personal knowledge.
dismiss hearsay

The judge ruled the testimony as mere hearsay.
(law) An out-of-court statement offered in court to prove the truth of the matter asserted (or the in-court testimony which recites such a statement), which is normally inadmissible (because it is not subject to cross-examination) unless it falls under one of a number of exceptions.

information that was heard by one person about another

Bikol Central: huring-huding
Bulgarian: слух (bg) m (sluh), мълва́ (bg) f (mǎlvá)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 傳聞 / 传闻 (zh) (chuánwén), 風聞 / 风闻 (zh) (fēngwén)，流言 (zh) (liúyán)
Czech: klep (cs), pověsti f pl, doslech m, zvěst z doslechu
Dutch: van horen zeggen, gerucht (nl)
Finnish: juoru (fi), kuulopuhe (fi)
French: ouï-dire (fr) m, on-dit (fr) m, rumeur (fr) f
German: Hörensagen (de) n, Gerücht (de) n
Hungarian: hallomás (hu), mendemonda (hu)
Irish: scéal scéil m
Italian: sentito dire, diceria (it) f, pettegolezzo (it) m
Japanese: 伝聞 (ja) (でんぶん, denbun), うわさ (ja) (uwasa)
Korean: 전문(傳聞) (ko) (jeonmun), 소문(所聞) (ko) (somun)
Latin: audītiō, rūmor m
Macedonian: слух m (sluh), гла́сина f (glásina)
Maori: tūtara
Navajo: jiní jiní
Norwegian:
Bokmål: rykte (no) n
Ottoman Turkish: تواتر (tevâtür)
Persian: شنیده (fa) (šenide)
Polish: pogłoska (pl) f, plotka (pl) f
Portuguese: diz que diz m, diz que diz que m, boato (pt) m
Russian: информа́ция из вторы́х рук f (informácija iz vtorýx ruk), молва́ (ru) f (molvá), слух (ru) m (slux), то́лки (ru) m pl (tólki)
Scottish Gaelic: fathann m
Spanish: rumores (es) m pl, habladurías (es) f pl, habladuría (es) f
Swedish: hörsägen (sv) c
Tagalog: sabi-sabi, kuwentong-barbero
Welsh: achlust (cy) m

(law) evidence based on the reports of others rather than on personal knowledge

(law) an out-of-court statement offered in court for the truth of the matter asserted