TEST'AMENT, n. L. testamentum, from testor, to make a will.
1. A solemn authentic instrument in writing, by which a person declares his will as to the disposal of his estate and effects after his death. This is otherwise called a will. A testament,to be valid, must be made when the testator is of sound mind, and it must be subscribed, witnessed and published in such manner as the law prescribes.
A man in certain cases may make a valid will by words only, and such will is called nuncupative.
2. The name of each general division of the canonical books of the sacred Scriptures as the Old Testament the New Testament. The name is equivalent to covenant, and in our use of it, we apply it to the books which contain the old and new dispensations that of Moses, and that of Jesus Christ.