Breaking a leg

[Rob Wick]

According to Black's Law Dictionary (Fifth Edition):

Hearsay. A statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Fed. R. Evid. 801©. "Hearsay evidence" is evidence of a statement that was made other than by a witness while testifying at the hearing and that is offered to prove the truth of the matter stated. Calif. Evid. Code.
Hearsay evidence is testimony in court of a statement made out of the court, the statement being offered as an assertion to show the truth of matters asserted therein, and thus resting for its value upon the credibility of the out-of-court asserter. Mutyambizi v. State. 33 Md.App. 55, 363 A.2nd 511, 518. Evidence not proceeding from the personal knowledge of the witness, but from the mere repetition of what he has heard others say. That which does not derive its value solely from the credit of the witness, but rests mainly on the veracity and competency of other persons. The very nature of the evidence shows its weakness, and it is admitted only in specified cases from necessity.
There are numerous exceptions to the hearsay exclusion; see e.g. Fed.R.Evid, 803, 804.

The part I put in bold type has always been what I considered the meaning of hearsay to be.

Best
Rob