character witness
19
5.6
- noun
- /ˈkɛrɪktər ˈwɪtnəs/
:
testigo de carácter
- Three character witnesses.
Examples
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I'll be a character witness.
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My lawyer needed a character witness.
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How about we add the driver as a character witness?
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I promise to act as a character witness on your behalf.
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I think your testimony as a character witness will be very valuable.
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You're going to be a character witness, right?
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The public defender called him forward as a character witness for me prior to sentencing.
Fiction book (2002) -
I was set to be a character witness at his trial, but I froze up and couldn't say anything.
Fiction book (1993) -
Your Honour, Monsieur Paul Barriere, the eminent president of the court, has abstained from sitting today so that he might give testimony as a character witness.
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My lawyer needed a character witness to support my case.
How Cooperative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'character' (a person's reputation or moral traits) combined with 'witness' (a person who testifies) yields someone who testifies about a person's character. This follows a transparent noun + noun pattern and is easily predictable for a B1 learner who knows both constituent words and basic courtroom vocabulary.
Etymology
The compound noun character witness comes from courtrooms where a witness would stand and speak about someone's character, meaning their honesty or kindness. That's why a character witness means 'a person who testifies about someone's good reputation'.