1、 概述
网络上有人说Witnesseth 若在合同开头时出现则其= Whereas ＝鉴于，还有人说其含义是“依照本协定的条款规定”。今天我们就来说一下这个词语到底什么意思。
《元照英美法词典》、《英汉法律缩略语词典》、《英汉法律词典》和《英汉法律用语大词典》均没有收录该词。
2、 含义及简介
Witnesseth vb. Shows; records 表明；记录
该词通常全部大写。通常用于合同和affidavits的开始部分。Preamble后面是句号，然后是全大写的WITNESSETH。
3、 功能与作用
当用于合同中时，其将preliminaries直到recitals的部分与合同条款部分分开。其主语是This agreement。其所在的句子简化一下就是
This Agreement witnesseth [i.e., shows or records] that, whereas [the parties have agreed to contract with one another], the parties therefore agree as follows....
也有人认为其作为标题是无意义的。
现代的起草者将其视为残存的文体，避免使用它。
4、 正确用法
This AGREEMENT entered into this _____ day of _____________, 20____,
by and between the City of Pocatello, a municipal corporation of Idaho, hereinafter referred to as “City,”and______________________________,
hereinafter referred to as “Landlord.”
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the purpose of this Agreement is to provide continuous utility service to the
premises specified herein regardless of changes in occupancy.
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises set forth herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
5、 错误用法
许多现代合同在preamble中有新的动词出现时仍错误地保留witnesseth。比如美国风险投资协会示范文本MODEL INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT中的这个例子：
THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of [___________], 200[_] between [CORPORATION], a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and [name] (“Indemnitee”).
WITNESSETH THAT:
WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve corporations as [directors] [officers] or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation;
....
6、witness与witnesseth啥区别
Witnesseth中的-eth后缀表明witnesseth是动词witness的第三人称单数形式，-eth的出现表明其所在的句子是现在时态。（加纳牛津，329）。
She sings= She singeth. He says= He siyeth. She witnesses= She witnesseth. (加纳牛津，938)
17世纪之前，-eth后缀仅是英语动词第三人称单数的屈折变化（inflection）之一（alternative）。主要用于英格兰南部。但17世纪末就很罕见了。She calls取代了she calleth。
7、如何翻译
合同首部出现的witnesseth一般不需要译出。比如4与5中的witnesseth
均不需要译出。
8、in witnesseth whereof, in witnesseth thereof 与in witness whereof, in witness thereof
有人说短语IN WITNESSETH WHEREOF/THEREFORE常出现于合同
结尾条款中，表示作为所签协议事项的证据。真的如此吗？
这四个表达在谷歌香港的搜索结果分别是4540项，45项，219万项和8.7万项。这些数字其实已经表明了结果。
上述表达哪些是错误的？为什么？请各位自己思考。
本文参考资料：
《布莱克法律词典》第八版，加纳《牛津现代法律用语词典》以及其他网络资料。
附小资料：屈折变化和屈折词缀Inflectional affix
在语法学中，词形变化或屈折变化（Inflection or inflexion）指单字(或词根)拼法的改变，导致语法功能改变，进而使其代表的意义也有所改变。多因应格、数和性等方面的不同而导致的书写形式的变化。其中表示该词汇基本概念的部份称为“词根”。转载自
1、 Inflectional affixes very often only add a minute or delicate grammatical meaning to the stem.屈折词缀常常在词干后面添加一个微小的或微妙的语法意义。
2、 Inflectional affixes do not change the Word class they attach to.屈折词缀不改变词类。
3、 Inflectional affixes are conditioned by Nonsemantic linguistic factors outside the word they attach to but within the phrase or sentence.屈折词缀受到的限制是非语义性的语言因素，这一因素在它们所依附的词以外，但是在短语或句子之内。Eg. The boy likes to …Likes就是由句子的主语决定的。
4、Inflectional affixes are mostly suffixes.屈折词缀绝大部分是后缀
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