Document \Doc"u*ment\, n. [LL. documentum, fr. docere to teach:
cf. F. document. See Docile.]
1. That which is taught or authoritatively set forth;
precept; instruction; dogma. [Obs.]
Learners should not be too much crowded with a heap
or multitude of documents or ideas at one time. --
I. Watts.
2. An example for instruction or warning. [Obs.]
They were forth with stoned to death, as a document
to others. -- Sir W.
Raleigh.
3. An original or official paper relied upon as the basis,
proof, or support of anything else; -- in its most
extended sense, including any writing, book, or other
instrument conveying information in the case; any material
substance on which the thoughts of men are represented by
any species of conventional mark or symbol.
Saint Luke . . . collected them from such documents
and testimonies as he . . . judged to be authentic.
--Paley.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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