earwitness

1 8.7

A person who heard something and reports it to police or court

noun
/ˈɪrˌwɪtnəs/

Jargon

: testigo auditivo

During the trial, the earwitness provided critical testimony about the conversation they overheard.
earwitness account

Examples

So you're an earwitness to an assassination.

Blow Out (1981)
The police relied on the earwitness to gather important details about the incident.
As an earwitness, she shared what she heard during the argument outside the bar.

Synonyms

witness

vsearwitness

889 2.5

A person who sees an event and can tell what happened

reports specifically what they heard rather than what they saw

informant

vsearwitness

165 5.6

A person who secretly gives information to police, journalists, or researchers

shares what they heard openly for legal use rather than secretly

testifier

vsearwitness

1 6.3

A person who speaks in court to tell what they know

focuses on reporting what they heard rather than general formal evidence

lay witness

vsearwitness

Jargon

1 6.9

A person who gives evidence in court about what they personally saw or experienced

is limited to testimony about things they heard rather than general perception

witnesser

vsearwitness

6.9

A person who sees an event like a crime or accident and tells what happened

focuses on reporting sounds they heard rather than visual observation of events

How Reliable

expert witness

Specialized

23 4.6

earwitness

Jargon

1 8.7

informant

165 5.6

listener

228 1.0

gossip

Offensive

41 2.2

Surface Forms

earwitness singular

earwitnesses plural

Morphology

earwitness = ear + witness (transparent) = ear + witness

The compound is a straightforward combination of 'ear' + 'witness' meaning a witness who heard something, which learners can derive from the parts.

Etymology

Earwitness joins ear ('to hear') and witness ('someone who tells what happened'), giving an easy picture of a witness for the ear. So an earwitness is a person who gives testimony or information about what they heard.