test English · revision 2548

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1386 (Chaucer)|origins=la testum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /test/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|test]], [[bor|fro|test|t=pot]] (modern [[m|fr|têt|t=cupel]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|testum|t=earthen pot]] (also [[m|la|testū]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) which is related to [[m|la|testa|t=piece of burnt clay, earthen pot, shell]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Watkins and Barnhart relate it to [[m|la|texere|t=to weave]] and [[ine-pro|*teks-|t=to weave, fabricate]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) but de Vaan, quoted by Etymonline, finds the derivation unlikely and thinks ''testa'' was probably a loanword, as words for vessels often are.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[text]] and [[testudo]].^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small vessel used in assaying or refining precious metals, a cupel: about 1386,^(OED 1989) or about 1395 in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Hoad notes that the word was rare before the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) The sense “trial or examination to find out the quality or truth of something” is from the 1590s, a figure made by Nashe from the metallurgical sense,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) comparing the testing of metal by melting it in a pot.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) By Johnson's time (1755) ''test'' could mean any means of trial.^(Etymonline) A test of religious belief, such as the oath required for office, is from 1665.^(OED 1989) In chemistry, the examination of a substance under known conditions is from 1800,^(OED 1989) and in mechanics the testing of materials for durability by 1877.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A test of knowledge or intelligence is from 1905^(Etymonline) or 1910.^(OED 1989) A ''test match'' in cricket is from 1908.^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to assay gold or silver” from about 1600,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) “to examine the correctness of” by 1748,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) “to undergo a test” from 1934 and “to give a test” from 1939.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1386 – a cupel for assaying (Chaucer).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – a trial (Nashe).^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – verb, to assay metal.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1665 – a religious test.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1748 – verb, to put to the proof.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1800 – a chemical test.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1905 – an academic test.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – a test match.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1939 – verb, to give a test.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A procedure for critically evaluating something; a trial.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A set of questions or tasks to measure knowledge or ability; an [[examination]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A basis for judgement; a [[criterion]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' A reaction used to identify a substance.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(cricket)'' A test match.^(OED 1989)

+ # A [[cupel]] for assaying metals.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To subject to a test; to try out.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To determine the presence or properties of a substance.^(AHD)

+ # To undergo a test, or give one.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To show a given result when tested: ''tested positive''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[testability]]

+ * [[testable]]

+ * [[testingly]]

+ * [[tester]]

+ * [[field-test]]

+ * [[high-test]]

+ * [[means-test]]

+ * [[road-test]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[testa]]

+ * [[text]]

+ * [[testudo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In zoology, a ''test'' is the hard shell of certain invertebrates such as sea urchins, directly from Latin ''testa'', from about 1842.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) An obsolete Scots ''test'', “a witness; a will”, is from Latin ''testis'', “witness”.^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}