In German, both “proof“ and “evidence“ translate to “Beweis“ which only has one single meaning – if something is “bewiesen“ then it is true and a fact. In English, I see the word “evidence“ used a lot for stuff that is obviously neither true nor fact. I’ve looked it up and don’t really see a difference between the meanings of “proof“ and “evidence“ – can anyone please ELI5?
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In general use, proof is something that shows something is true – to whatever standard of proof is relevant in the context – while evidence is something that suggests it is true. Put together, multiple pieces of evidence can be proof.
For example:
“This video of you in the museum is proof you were there.”
“The fact you have a museum guide book is evidence you were at the museum.”
Or:
“The discovery of the beaks of giant squid in the stomachs of sperm whales is proof that the whales eat giant squid.”
“Sucker marks from giant squid on sperm whales is evidence that the whales hunt and eat giant squid.”
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