lay witness
1
6.9
- noun
- Jargon
:
testigo laico
- As a lay witness, her testimony was based on what she observed, rather than any professional expertise.
Examples
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During the trial, several lay witnesses provided their accounts of what they saw that night.
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The lawyer called a lay witness to the stand to describe the events leading up to the incident.
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Upon the opening of her tomb, one of the lay witnesses removed a ring from Matilda's finger and was immediately struck blind; when others replaced the stolen ring, his sight returned.
Academic text (1999) -
The problem, of course, is that the family members are lay witnesses, who, like the jury, are uneducated about the behaviors of individuals with mild intellectual disability.
Academic text (2016) -
It is not surprising that judges, juries, and lay witnesses have misconceptions about the intellectually disabled; most people do.
Academic text (2016)
Synonyms
∞
2.3
A person who tells what they know in court under oath
1
6.3
A person who speaks in court to tell what they know
Antonyms
- Specialized
23
4.6
A person with special knowledge who gives an opinion in court about a subject they know well
How Qualified
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a non-expert person who testifies' is directly derivable from combining 'lay' (ordinary/non-expert) with 'witness' (person who testifies). This adjective + noun composition transparently signals a witness who is not an expert, so a B1 learner who knows both words should understand it.
Etymology
The term lay witness comes from lay, meaning an ordinary person rather than a trained expert, and witness, meaning someone who saw an event. That's why a lay witness says what they 'personally saw' or experienced, not what an 'expert' would say.