compurgator

Definitions

noun In early English law, a person, usually a kinsman or a fellow-member in a guild, called in defense of a person on trial.
noun The compurgators acted in the character rather of jurymen than of witnesses, for they swore to their belief, not to what they knew; that is, the accused making oath of his innocence, they swore that they believed he was speaking the truth. The number of compurgators required by law was regularly twelve.

noun One who bears testimony or swears to the veracity or innocence of another. See purgation; also Wager of law, under wager.

noun obsolete, law A person who swears an oath that another person is innocent

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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The compurgator slides into the witness and the juryman, bringing with him the oath on the Bible and trial for perjury, and the feed champion of the Church into the patron.

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878. Various
The defense team sees Tantawi as a compurgator, or a witness whose testimony would exonerate Mubarak.

Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011
The defense team sees Tantawi as a compurgator, or a witness whose testimony would exonerate Mubarak.

Reuters: Top News 2011
The defense team sees Tantawi as a compurgator, or a witness whose testimony would exonerate Mubarak.

Reuters: Press Release 2011
Let Mr. Fox therefore be Lord Cobham's compurgator; I dare not.

Henry of Monmouth, Volume 2 Memoirs of Henry the Fifth James Endell Tyler 1820
Daniel's accusers, now that his innocency is cleared, and Heaven itself has become his compurgator, have the same punishment inflicted upon them which they designed against him, according to the law of retaliation made against false accusers, Deut. xix.

Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi) 1721