Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Certificate \Cer*tif"i*cate\, n. [F. certificat, fr. LL.
   certificatus made certain, p. p. of certificare. See {tify}.]
   1. A written testimony to the truth of any fact; as,
      certificate of good behavior.

   2. A written declaration legally authenticated.

   {Trial by certificate}, a trial which the testimony of the
      person certifying is the only proper criterion of the
      point in dispute; as, when the issue is whether a person
      was absent in the army, this is tried by the certificate
      of the proper officer in writing, under his seal.
      --Blackstone.