attestation

noun

Etymology: From Middle French attestation, from Latin attestātiō; by surface analysis, attest + -ation.

1. A thing that serves to bear witness, confirm, or authenticate; validation, verification, documentation.
2. A confirmation or authentication.
3. The process, performed by accountants or auditors, of providing independent opinion on published financial and other business records of an enterprise, public agency, or other organization.
4. An appearance in print or otherwise recorded on a permanent medium.

   “A historical dictionary cannot do this though it cannot also neglect this aspect because the attestation of a rare meaning is bound to be very limited.”

   “The eastern-most attestation of Sl skola in the meaning of synagogue appears to be in Smolensk Russian.”