Corroborator

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A figure or source that verifies the reliability of claims
2. An individual who provides additional proof to strengthen or confirm a statement or claim
3. Someone who offers supporting information or testimony to help validate a fact or assertion

Etymology: "Corroborator" is a straightforward formation: the English verb "corroborate" with the agent suffix "-or" added to name the one who does the confirming. The verb itself comes from Latin "corroborare," meaning to strengthen, built from "com-" (an intensifying form of "cum," "with") and "roborare," to make strong, from "robur," oak or hardness. So the root image is of something made as firm as oak. The suffix has a longer road. The Latin agent ending "-tor" became "-ator" and passed into Old French as "-eor," which reached Middle English as "-our." English later spelled that ending "-or," so the word's final syllable carries a thread of French and Latin grammar, the same route followed by many other agent nouns such as "editor" and "governor."

Synonyms: confirmant, validator, supporter

Antonyms: disputant, contradictor