Probated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Recognized as validated or legally confirmed, especially regarding a will or legal document
2. Confirmed or established as genuine or authentic through a formal legal process
3. Legally approved or proven valid, typically referring to the authentication of testamentary documents

Etymology: "Probated" is the past tense and past participle of "probate," a verb meaning to have a will certified as genuine and legally valid. The verb comes from the Latin "probatus," the past participle of "probare," meaning "to test, examine, judge of," which also gave English the familiar "probe" and "prove." The Latin root carries that sense of testing something to see whether it holds up, which is exactly what happens when a court examines a deceased person's will. The word reached English in Middle English, and its legal sense of certifying a will as authentic is the one that has stuck. A will that has been probated has passed that examination and can be carried out. So the everyday idea of proof, checking that something is real, survives intact in a very formal setting.

Synonyms: validated, authenticated, certified

Antonyms: invalidated, disapproved, rejected