German

Noun

Beweis m ‎(genitive Beweises, plural Beweise)

1. (countable) proof
   • 2010, Der Spiegel, issue 23/2010, page 75:

     Erst in den neunziger Jahren etablierte sich die sogenannte evidenzbasierte Medizin, die systematisch nach Beweisen für die Wirksamkeit von Medikamenten sucht.

     Only in the '90s did the so-called evidence-based medicine establish itself, which systematically searches for proof for the effectiveness of medical drugs.

Usage notes

• Generally, a Beweis is understood to be one piece of evidence that suffices to prove something. The plural Beweise can refer either to a plurality of such sufficient proofs, or to pieces of evidence that become proof by their combination. Therefore the German plural is often equivalent to the English uncountable singular. For example: Es gibt Beweise für die Entdeckung Amerikas durch die Wikinger. (“There is proof for the Vikings’ discovery of America.”)
• The singular is used in German as in English for an intellectual study aimed at proving something, as in ein mathematischer Beweis (“a mathematical proof”).

Declension

Derived terms

• Hauptbeweis
• Zirkelbeweis

Related terms

• Nachweis

See also

• Beleg
• Indiz