Probacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Obsolete Middle English term for evidence or demonstration that something is true ; a trial or examination made to test the quality of something
2. An archaic word meaning proof that a claim holds good ; a test or trial carried out to examine how sound or worthy something is
3. In medieval English, a demonstration establishing that something is genuine ; an examination or trial used to check its worth

Etymology: "Probacioun" is a Middle English word meaning proof, or the act of testing something to establish its truth. It came into English from Old French "probation," which in turn came from Latin "probatio," a noun formed from the verb "probare," meaning to test, approve, or prove. The Latin verb is the source of the modern English "probe," "probable," and "approve," all of which share the idea of putting something to the test. In Middle English the word was spelled in many ways, and the spelling "probacioun" reflects its French ancestry, with the Old French "-acion" ending pronounced as the familiar "-ation" we use today. Its sense was largely legal and academic: a trial of a claim, or evidence that a claim held up. Medieval writers used it of testing metals, texts, and arguments alike. The word is now rare in modern English, and its descendant "probation," which kept the legal and testing senses, has taken over most of its work.