Etymologically
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proba

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈprɔ.ba][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈprɔː.ba][1]

Forms

proba f (genitive probae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin probō (“to test, approve, prove”), a back-formation from the verb.[2][1][3] The TLL compares formations of this kind in Leumann's grammar.[2] The word passed into Greek as a loanword.[2] Through Old French prueve and Anglo-Norman preove it is the source of English proof.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Tertullian as the first source.[4] The TLL's earliest example is in the veterinary writer Pelagonius, who says that horses with too restless tails are usually rejected at the test (in probā).[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant a test or examination, especially of army horses:[2] the Theodosian Code limits to one solidus the fee that the stratōrēs might demand under the name of proba.[2][5] By metonymy it was also the thing put to the test, a sample: Ammianus Marcellinus says that samples of the soldiers' grain ration, which they call probae, were offered to the emperor Jovian.[2][5]

In Medieval Latin it meant proof or evidence, and in British records a sample of grain taken for testing.[6] Du Cange glosses it as a specimen, comparing French épreuve and Italian prova.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Köbler's first source, Tertullian.[4]
  • c. 360 AD – Pelagonius uses it of the test of army horses.[2][4]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus: samples of grain offered to Jovian.[2][4]
  • 438 AD – The Theodosian Code names a fee probae nōmine.[2][4]
  • 1198 – An English court record uses it for proof in a suit.[6]
  • c. 1200 – Borrowed into English, through French, as proof.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) a test, trial, examination.[2][5][8]
  2. (Late Latin) a sample (of something tested).[2][9]
  3. (Medieval Latin) proof, evidence.[6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier