4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Nuncupative  \Nun*cu"pa*tive\,  a.  [L.  nuncupativus  nominal:  cf 
  F.  nuncupatif.] 
  1.  Publicly  or  solemnly  declaratory.  [Obs.] 
 
  2.  Nominal;  existing  only  in  name  [Obs.] 
 
  3.  Oral;  not  written. 
 
  {Nuncupative  will}  or  {testament},  a  will  or  testament  made 
  by  word  of  mouth  only,  before  witnesses,  as  by  a  soldier 
  or  seaman,  and  depending  on  oral  testimony  for  proof. 
  --Blackstone. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Testament  \Tes"ta*ment\,  n.  [F.,  fr  L.  testamentum  fr  testari 
  to  be  a  witness,  to  make  one's  last  will  akin  to  testis  a 
  witness.  Cf  {Intestate},  {Testify}.] 
  1.  (Law)  A  solemn,  authentic  instrument  in  writing,  by  which 
  a  person  declares  his  will  as  to  disposal  of  his  estate 
  and  effects  after  his  death. 
 
  Note:  This  is  otherwise  called  a  will  and  sometimes  a  last 
  will  and  testament.  A  testament,  to  be  valid,  must  be 
  made  by  a  person  of  sound  mind;  and  it  must  be  executed 
  and  published  in  due  form  of  law.  A  man,  in  certain 
  cases,  may  make  a  valid  will  by  word  of  mouth  only.  See 
  {Nuncupative  will},  under  {Nuncupative}. 
 
  2.  One  of  the  two  distinct  revelations  of  God's  purposes 
  toward  man;  a  covenant;  also  one  of  the  two  general 
  divisions  of  the  canonical  books  of  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
  in  which  the  covenants  are  respectively  revealed;  as  the 
  Old  Testament;  the  New  Testament;  --  often  limited,  in 
  colloquial  language,  to  the  latter. 
 
  He  is  the  mediator  of  the  new  testament  .  .  .  for 
  the  redemption  of  the  transgressions  that  were  under 
  the  first  testament.  --Heb.  ix  15. 
 
  {Holographic  testament},  a  testament  written  wholly  by  the 
  testator  himself.  --Bouvier. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  testament 
  n  1:  a  profession  of  belief;  "he  stated  his  political  testament" 
  2:  a  legal  document  declaring  a  person's  wishes  regarding  the 
  disposal  of  their  property  when  they  die  [syn:  {will}] 
  3:  strong  evidence  for  something  "his  easy  victory  was  a 
  testament  to  his  skill" 
  4:  either  of  the  two  main  parts  of  the  Christian  Bible  [syn:  {Testament}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Testament 
  occurs  twelve  times  in  the  New  Testament  (Heb.  9:15,  etc.)  as 
  the  rendering  of  the  Gr  diatheke  which  is  twenty  times 
  rendered  covenant"  in  the  Authorized  Version,  and  always  so  in 
  the  Revised  Version.  The  Vulgate  translates  incorrectly  by 
  testamentum  whence  the  names  Old"  and  "New  Testament,"  by 
  which  we  now  designate  the  two  sections  into  which  the  Bible  is 
  divided.  (See  {BIBLE}.) 
 

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