examiner

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English examinour,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman examinour, also examynur,^[4][5] and Old French examineur.^[4] The French word is recorded from the late 13th century for a person who examines candidates for holy orders,^[4] and the Anglo-Norman from about 1270.^[5] It was formed from examiner (“to examine”) with the agent suffix -our,^[4] and the English spelling was later remodelled after examine and -er.^[4][6] The verb comes from Latin exāminō (“to weigh accurately, test”), from exāmen (“the tongue of a balance, weighing”), from the base of exigō (“to weigh, examine”).^[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who formally questions a witness: before 1325, in the Statutes of the Realm.^[4][2] Etymonline dates the word to the early 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense came first.^[4][3] The sense of a person who tests candidates' knowledge or skill is recorded from about 1485, in Gilbert Hay's Buke of Knychthede,^[4] and that of a person who investigates something closely from 1539.^[4] The Examiner in Chancery, an officer who took down witnesses' testimony, is recorded from 1594,^[4] an official inspector from about 1608,^[4] an examiner in bankruptcy from 1632,^[4] and a doctor who carries out a medical examination from 1672.^[4] From 1710 the word appeared in the titles of newspapers.^[4] Johnson (1755) gave "one who interrogates a criminal or evidence" first, and then "one who scrutinises".^[8] The Shorter Oxford marks the sense of questioning a witness as obsolete after the late 17th century,^[6] while the OED keeps it current in a wider sense.^[4] In the Republic of Ireland an examiner has since 1990 been a person appointed by a court to help a company in difficulty survive.^[4][9]

Timeline

• before 1325 – a person who questions a witness.^[4][2]
• c. 1485 – a person who examines candidates.^[4]
• 1539 – a person who investigates something.^[4]
• 1594 – Examiner in Chancery.^[4]
• 1672 – a medical examiner.^[4]
• 1710 – in newspaper titles.^[4]
• 1990 – in Irish company law.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who sets or marks an examination testing knowledge or skill: The examiner asked her to reverse round the corner.^[9][10][4]
2. A person who inspects or investigates something, especially as an official: an insurance examiner.^[10][9][4]
3. (law) A court officer who takes the testimony of witnesses.^[10][4]
4. (law) In the Republic of Ireland, a person appointed by a court to help a company facing insolvency to survive.^[9][4]
5. A doctor or other health professional who carries out a medical examination.^[4]

Word family

• medical examiner

Related words

• examine
• exam
• exact

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster