examine

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English examinen, borrowed from Old French examiner (“to test, try”),^[2][3][4] from Latin exāmināre (“to weigh accurately, test”), from examen (“tongue of a balance; a means of weighing”),^[2][5] probably from exigere (“to drive out; to measure”), from ex (“out”) and agere (“to drive”) (see exact).^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To test or question, inquire: 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.^[2][6] Etymonline dates it to about 1300.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To test precious metals is from before 1340,^[6] and to inspect or scrutinize something carefully from about 1330 to the mid-14th century.^[6][3] To inquire into a question is from 1382.^[6] To question a witness in court is from the early 15th century,^[3] and to test a pupil's knowledge by questions is an early sense.^[3] A noun examine, an examination, is from 1605 and now historical except in Scots.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1303 – to inquire.^[2][6]
• c. 1330 – to inspect carefully.^[6]
• before 1340 – to assay metals.^[6]
• early 15th century – to question a witness.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To inspect or study closely to find out about something; to scrutinize.
2. To test someone's knowledge by questions or exercises.
3. To check someone's health or body for disease.
4. (law) To question a witness formally.

Word family

• examinable
• examiner
• examiningly
• cross-examine
• unexaminable
• examinee
• preexamine
• unexamined

Related words

• exam
• examen
• examinant
• examination
• exact
• agent

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press