'attestation' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'attestatio', from the verb 'attestari', where 'ad-' (toward) combined with 'testari' meant 'to bear witness'.

'attestation' changed from Latin 'attestatio' and passed through Old French (attestation) into Middle English, eventually becoming the modern English 'attestation'.

Initially, it meant 'the act of bearing witness' or 'a witness statement', but over time it broadened to include 'a formal certificate or proof' and the current general sense of 'a statement or evidence confirming truth'.