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corroborate

/kəˈrɑbəˌreɪt/

Confirm or strengthen with additional evidence

From Latin con- (with) + Latin roborō (to strengthen).

verb
con-
Latin
AI-inferred
com- / con-
“with, together”; assimilated before r- and possibly intensive “thoroughly”
Latin
AI-inferred
con-
Prefix attached to a strengthening verb
roboro
Latin
AI-inferred
rōbur, rōboris
“strength”; also “hard reddish oak”
Latin
AI-inferred
rōborō
“to strengthen,” literally “make strong”
Latin
Verified
corroboratus (corrōborātus)
“strengthened,” the perfect passive participle

from Latin corroboratus , past participle of corroborare "to strengthen, invigorate,"

+1 more source
Combined
Latin corrōborō / corrōborātus
The prefix con- combines with rōborō, producing the idea of strengthening thoroughly or together.
English, 1520s–1530s
AI-inferred
corroborate
Borrowed from Latin, initially “give legal confirmation to” or “make strong”
English, 1706
AI-inferred
corroborate
Developed its usual sense “strengthen by evidence; confirm”
Modern English
corroborate
“

Picture a Roman official trying to make a shaky claim stand up in court: he could describe it as being made strong, or rōborō, a verb built from rōbur, “strength”—the same Latin family that eventually gives English robust. Add con-, meaning “together” or sometimes “thoroughly,” and Latin had corrōborāre: to strengthen something from all sides. English borrowed the participial form in the 1520s or 1530s, first using corroborate for legal confirmation and even for literally strengthening medicines. By 1706, the courtroom image had shifted from strengthening a person or object to strengthening a statement with extra evidence. So when one witness corroborates another, the claim is not merely repeated; it is being propped up like a heavy oak beam, with facts supplying the timber.

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