Prober

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An entity or instrument utilized to thoroughly investigate or search for information about a subject or object
2. A person or device that delves into topics or areas of interest to extract details through exploration
3. An individual or tool that investigates a subject in depth to gather detailed information

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "probe" with the agent suffix "-er," which English attaches to verbs to name the person or thing doing the action. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from Latin "-arius," which formed nouns denoting a person connected with something, and it passed into English through Old French "-ier" and Middle English "-er," with the Old English "-ere" standing alongside it as a native ancestor. So "prober" is a recent-looking combination of an old and well-travelled ending with a verb that English had already absorbed. The verb "probe" is the more interesting half. It comes from Latin "probare," meaning "to test, examine, or prove," the same root that gives English "probe" its sense of testing something to find out what it is like inside. A prober, then, is anyone or anything that tests a subject thoroughly, from a medical instrument threaded into a wound to a researcher or a space vehicle sent to examine a distant world.

Synonyms: investigator, examiner