Verb. From Latin testāri: to bear witness, to testify.
Testar is an interesting verb in legal Spanish, as it is used mainly in legal contexts and has little presence in everyday language.
1. To make a will
This is the traditional and primary meaning: to dispose of one’s assests upon death. See testamento.
2. To strike out or delete part of a legal document
In documentary and legal practice, testar means to delete, strike through, or render ineffective a part of a legal text.
In English, the closest equivalent is to redact.
⚠️ False friend alert:
In Spanish, redactar does not mean “to delete” but rather to draft or write a text (for example, to draft a contract: redactar un contrato).
3. Modern usage: “to test”
There is a third meaning of testar in contemporary Spanish, influenced by the English verb to test, with the sense of to try or to test something (a system, a process, a product).
From a prescriptive point of view, the RAE recommends:
- probar
- poner a prueba
In practice, however, many speakers prefer testear, while using testar with this meaning can be confusing in legal contexts.
