Test

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Test, n. [OE. test test, or cupel, potsherd, F. têt, from L. testum an earthen vessel; akin to testa a piece of burned clay, an earthen pot, a potsherd, perhaps for tersta, and akin to torrere to patch, terra earth (cf. Thirst, and Terrace), but cf. Zend tasta cup. Cf. Test a shell, Testaceous, Tester a covering, a coin, Testy, Tête-à-tête.].

•  A cupel or cupelling hearth in which precious metals are melted for trial and refinement.  [1913 Webster]

  "Our ingots, tests, and many mo."  [1913 Webster]
•  Examination or trial by the cupel; hence, any critical examination or decisive trial; as, to put a man's assertions to a test.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  Means of trial; as, absence is a test of love.  [1913 Webster]

  "Each test every light her muse will bear."  [1913 Webster]
•  That with which anything is compared for proof of its genuineness; a touchstone; a standard.  [1913 Webster]

  "Life, force, and beauty must to all impart,
  At once the source, and end, and test of art."  [1913 Webster]
•  Discriminative characteristic; standard of judgment; ground of admission or exclusion.  [1913 Webster]

  "Our test excludes your tribe from benefit."  [1913 Webster]
•  Judgment; distinction; discrimination.  [1913 Webster]

  "Who would excel, when few can make a test
  Betwixt indifferent writing and the best?"  [1913 Webster]
•  A reaction employed to recognize or distinguish any particular substance or constituent of a compound, as the production of some characteristic precipitate; also, the reagent employed to produce such reaction; thus, the ordinary test for sulphuric acid is the production of a white insoluble precipitate of barium sulphate by means of some soluble barium salt.  [1913 Webster]
•  A set of questions to be answered or problems to be solved, used as a means to measure a person's knowledge, aptitude, skill, intelligence, etc.; in school settings, synonymous with examination or exam; as, an intelligence test. Also used attributively; as a test score, test results.  [PJC]

  "I leave him to your gracious acceptance, whose trial shall better publish his commediation."  [1913 Webster]

  "Thy virtue, prince, has stood the test of fortune,
  Like purest gold, that tortured in the furnace,
  Comes out more bright, and brings forth all its weight."  [1913 Webster]

Test act (Eng. Law), an act of the English Parliament prescribing a form of oath and declaration against transubstantiation, which all officers, civil and military, were formerly obliged to take within six months after their admission to office. They were obliged also to receive the sacrament according to the usage of the Church of England. Blackstone. -- Test object (Optics), an object which tests the power or quality of a microscope or telescope, by requiring a certain degree of excellence in the instrument to determine its existence or its peculiar texture or markings. -- Test paper. (a) (Chem.) Paper prepared for use in testing for certain substances by being saturated with a reagent which changes color in some specific way when acted upon by those substances; thus, litmus paper is turned red by acids, and blue by alkalies, turmeric paper is turned brown by alkalies, etc. (b) (Law) An instrument admitted as a standard or comparison of handwriting in those jurisdictions in which comparison of hands is permitted as a mode of proving handwriting. -- Test tube. (Chem.) (a) A simple tube of thin glass, closed at one end, for heating solutions and for performing ordinary reactions. (b) A graduated tube.

Syn. -- Criterion; standard; experience; proof; experiment; trial.

Test, v. t. 

•  To refine, as gold or silver, in a test, or cupel; to subject to cupellation.  [1913 Webster]
•  To put to the proof; to prove the truth, genuineness, or quality of by experiment, or by some principle or standard; to try; as, to test the soundness of a principle; to test the validity of an argument.  [1913 Webster]

  "Experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution."  [1913 Webster]
•  To examine or try, as by the use of some reagent; as, to test a solution by litmus paper.  [1913 Webster]
•  To administer a test{8} to (someone) for the purpose of ascertaining a person's knowledge or skill; especially, in academic settings, to determine how well a student has learned the subject matter of a course of instruction.  [PJC]

Test, n. [L. testis. Cf. Testament, Testify.].

 A witness.  [1913 Webster]
"Prelates and great lords of England, who were for the more surety tests of that deed."  [1913 Webster]

Test, v. i. [L. testari. See Testament.].

 To make a testament, or will.  [1913 Webster]

Test, n. [L. testa a piece of burned clay, a broken piece of earthenware, a shell. See Test a cupel.].

•  The external hard or firm covering of many invertebrate animals.  [1913 Webster]

  " The test of crustaceans and insects is composed largely of chitin; in mollusks it is composed chiefly of calcium carbonate, and is called the shell."  [1913 Webster]
•  The outer integument of a seed; the episperm, or spermoderm.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Test, n. & v.
--n.
1 a critical examination or trial of a person's or thing's qualities.
2 the means of so examining; a standard for comparison or trial; circumstances suitable for this (success is not a fair test).
3 a minor examination, esp. in school (spelling test).
4 colloq. a test match.
5 a ground of admission or rejection (is excluded by our test).
6 Chem. a reagent or a procedure employed to reveal the presence of another in a compound.
7 Brit. a movable hearth in a reverberating furnace with a cupel used in separating gold or silver from lead.
--v.tr.
1 put to the test; make trial of (a person or thing or quality).
2 try severely; tax a person's powers of endurance etc.
3 Chem. examine by means of a reagent.
4 Brit. refine or assay (metal).

Idiom

put to the test cause to undergo a test. Test Act hist.
1 an act in force 1672-1828, requiring all persons before holding office in Britain to take oaths of supremacy and allegiance or an equivalent test.
2 an act of 1871 relaxing conditions for university degrees. test bed equipment for testing aircraft engines before acceptance for general use. test card a still television picture transmitted outside normal programme hours and designed for use in judging the quality and position of the image. test case Law a case setting a precedent for other cases involving the same question of law. test drive a drive taken to determine the qualities of a motor vehicle with a view to its regular use. test-drive v.tr. (past -drove; past part. -driven) drive (a vehicle) for this purpose. test flight a flight during which the performance of an aircraft is tested. test-fly v.tr. (-flies; past -flew; past part. -flown) fly (an aircraft) for this purpose. test match a cricket or Rugby match between teams of certain countries, usu. each of a series in a tour. test meal a meal of specified quantity and composition, eaten to assist tests of gastric secretion. test out put (a theory etc.) to a practical test.
test paper
1 a minor examination paper.
2 Chem. a paper impregnated with a substance changing colour under known conditions. test pilot a pilot who test-flies aircraft. test-tube a thin glass tube closed at one end used for chemical tests etc. test-tube baby colloq. a baby conceived by in vitro fertilization.

Derivative

testable adj. testability n. testee n.

Test, n. the shell of some invertebrates, esp. foraminiferars and tunicates.

Etymology

L testa tile, jug, shell, etc.: cf. TEST(1)

THESAURUS

Test

Bernreuter personality inventory, Binet-Simon test, Brown personality inventory, Goldstein-Sheerer test, IQ, IQ test, Kent mental test, Minnesota preschool scale, Olympic games, Olympics, Oseretsky test, Pap test, Rorschach test, Stanford revision, Stanford-Binet test, Szondi test, TAT, Wechsler-Bellevue intelligence scale, achievement test, acid test, alpha test, analysis, anatomic diagnosis, apperception test, aptitude test, armor, assay, assess, association test, audit, audition, barometer, beta test, biological diagnosis, biopsy, blank determination, blue book, bout, bring to test, brouillon, canon, catechize, check, check and doublecheck, check out, check over, check up on, chitin, clinical diagnosis, collate, concours, confirm, contest, controlled association test, cortex, criterion, cross-check, crucial test, crucible, cut and try, cut-and-try, cytodiagnosis, degree, demonstrate, derby, determination, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, digital examination, docimasy, double-check, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, electromyography, elytron, empirical, encounter, engagement, episperm, essay, evaluate, evaluation, exam, examen, examination, examine, experiment, experimental, experimentation, feeling out, fight, final, final examination, first draft, free association test, game, games, gauge, give a try, give a tryout, go, graduated scale, great go, gymkhana, have a go, hearing, heuristic, hit-or-miss, honors, inkblot test, intelligence quotient, intelligence test, interest inventory, interrogate, interview, investigation, joust, kiteflying, laboratory diagnosis, lorica, lorication, mail, mammography, match, matching, measure, meet, meeting, mental test, midsemester, midterm, model, norm, oral, oral examination, ordeal, parameter, pattern, pericarp, personality test, physical diagnosis, physical examination, pilot, plate, play around with, postmortem diagnosis, practice upon, prelim, probation, probationary, probative, probatory, probe, proof, protective covering, prove, proving, provisional, psychological test, pump, put to trial, quantity, query, question, quiz, rally, reading, readout, recheck, rencontre, research, road-test, rough draft, rough sketch, rule, run a sample, sample, scale, scute, scutum, serodiagnosis, shake down, shell, shield, smear, sounding out, speculative, standard, standardized test, study, substantiate, take-home examination, taste, tentative, test case, testa, testing, thematic apperception test, thick skin, tilt, touchstone, tournament, tourney, trial, trial-and-error, triple-check, tripos, try, try it on, try out, trying, type, urinalysis, uroscopy, validate, value, verification, verificatory, verify, viva, word association test, work-up, worm out of, written, written examination, yardstick

ROGET THESAURUS

Test

Experiment

N experiment, essay, analysis, screen, trial, tentative method, t=atonnement, verification, probation, experimentum crucis, proof, (demonstration), criterion, diagnostic, test, probe, crucial test, acid test, litmus test, crucible, reagent, check, touchstone, pix, assay, ordeal, ring, litmus paper, curcuma paper, turmeric paper, test tube, analytical instruments, empiricism, rule of thumb, feeler, trial balloon, pilot balloon, messenger balloon, pilot engine, scout, straw to show the wind, speculation, random shot, leap in the dark, analyzer, analyst, assayist, adventurer, experimenter, experimentist, experimentalist, scientist, engineer, technician, subject, experimentee, guinea pig, experimental animal, protocol, experimental method, blind experiment, double-blind experiment, controlled experiment, poll, survey, opinion poll, epidemiological survey, retrospective analysis, retrospective survey, prospective survey, prospective analysis, statistical analysis, literature search, library research, tryout, audition, discovery, measurement, evidence, deduction, induction, abduction, experimental, empirical, probative, probatory, probationary, provisional, analytic, docimastic, tentative, unverified, unproven, speculative, untested, on trial, under examination, on probation, under probation, on one's trial, on approval, check it out, give it a try, see how it goes, Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.

VB experiment, essay, try, try out, assay, make an experiment, make a trial of, give a trial to, put on trial, subject to trial, experiment upon, rehearse, put to the test, bring to the test, submit to the test, submit to the proof, prove, verify, test, touch, practice upon, try one's strength, road-test, test drive, take for a spin, test fly, grope, feel one's way, grope for one's way, fumble, t=atonner, aller =a t=atons, put out a feeler, throw out a feeler, send up a trial balloon, send up a pilot balloon, see how the land lies, get the lay of the land, test the waters, feel out, sound out, take the pulse, see, check, check out, see how the wind blows, consult the barometer, feel the pulse, fish for, bob for, cast for, beat about for, angle, trawl, cast one's net, beat the bushes, try one's fortune, explore.

Teaching

N teaching, instruction, edification, education, tuition, tutorage, tutelage, direction, guidance, opsimathy, qualification, preparation, training, schooling, discipline, excitation, drill, practice, book exercise, persuasion, proselytism, propagandism, propaganda, indoctrination, inculcation, inoculation, advise, explanation, lesson, lecture, sermon, apologue, parable, discourse, prolection, preachment, chalk talk, Chautauqua, exercise, task, curriculum, course, course of study, grammar, three R's, initiation, A, B, C, elementary education, primary education, secondary education, technical education, college education, collegiate education, military education, university education, liberal education, classical education, religious education, denominational education, moral education, secular education, propaedeutics, moral tuition, gymnastics, calisthenics, physical drill, physical education, sloyd, phonics, rote, rote memorization, brute memory, cooperative learning, Montessori method, ungraded classes, test, examination, exam, final exam, mid-term exam grade, score, marks, A, B, C, D, E, F, gentleman's C, pass, fail, incomplete, homework, take-home lesson, exercise for the student, theme, project, teaching, taught, educational, scholastic, academic, doctrinal, disciplinal, instructive, instructional, didactic, propaedeutic, propaedeutical, the schoolmaster abroad, a bovi majori disscit arare minor, adeo in teneris consuecere multum est, docendo discimus, quaenocent docent, qui docet discit, sermons in stones and good in everything.

Indication

N indication, symbolism, symbolization, semiology, semiotics, semeiology, semeiotics, Zeitgeist, characteristic, diagnostic, lineament, feature, trait, fingerprint, voiceprint, footprint, noseprint, cloven hoof, footfall, recognition (memory), diagnostic, divining rod, detector, sign, symbol, index, indice, indicator, point, pointer, exponent, note, token, symptom, dollar sign, dollar mark, type, figure, emblem, cipher, device, representation, epigraph, motto, posy, gesture, gesticulation, pantomime, wink, glance, leer, nod, shrug, beck, touch, nudge, dactylology, dactylonomy, freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show, cue, hint, clue, clew, key, scent, signal, signal post, rocket, blue light, watch fire, watch tower, telegraph, semaphore, flagstaff, cresset, fiery cross, calumet, heliograph, guidon, headlight, mark, scratch, line, stroke, dash, score, stripe, streak, tick, dot, point, notch, nick, print, imprint, impress, impression, keyboard symbols, printing symbols, red letter, italics, sublineation, underlining, bold font, jotting, note, annotation, reference, blaze, cedilla, guillemets, hachure, quotation marks, ", double quotes, " ", parentheses, "( )", brackets, "", braces, "", left arrow, "<", right arrow, ">", forward slash, "/", backward slash, "\", exclamation point, "!", commercial at, "@", pound sign, "#", percent sign, "%", carat, "", ampersand, "&", asterisk, "*", hyphen, "-", dash, "-", "_", em dash, "--", plus sign, "+", equals sign, "=", question mark, "?", period, ", ", semicolon, ", ", colon, ":", comma, ", ", apostrophe, "'", single quote, "'", tilde, "~", badge, criterion, countercheck, countermark, countersign, counterfoil, duplicate, tally, label, ticket, billet, letter, counter, check, chip, chop, dib, totem, tessera, card, bill, witness, voucher, stamp, cacher, trade mark, Hall mark, signature, mark, autograph, autography, attestation, hand, hand writing, sign manual, cipher, seal, sigil, signet, hand and seal, paraph, brand, superscription, indorsement, endorsement, password, watchword, catchword, security card, pass, passkey, credentials, open sesame, timbrology, mot de passe, mot du guet, pass-parole, shibboleth, title, heading, docket, address card, visiting card, carte de visite, insignia, banner, banneret, bannerol, bandrol, flag, colors, streamer, standard, eagle, labarum, oriflamb, oriflamme, figurehead, ensign, pennon, pennant, pendant, burgee, blue Peter, jack, ancient, gonfalon, union jack, banderole, old glory, quarantine flag, vexillum, yellow-flag, yellow jack, tricolor, stars and stripes, bunting, heraldry, crest, coat of arms, arms, armorial bearings, hatchment, escutcheon, scutcheon, shield, supporters, livery, uniform, cockade, epaulet, chevron, garland, love knot, favor, beacon, cairn, post, staff, flagstaff, hand, pointer, vane, cock, weathercock, guidepost, handpost, fingerpost, directing post, signpost, pillars of Hercules, pharos, bale-fire, beacon-fire, l'etoile du Nord, landmark, seamark, lighthouse, balize, polestar, loadstar, lodestar, cynosure, guide, address, direction, name, sign, signboard, warning, omen, prefigurement, trace, record, warning &c, alarm, scepter, trophy, gauge, milestone, milepost, brand, fool's cap, check, telltale, test, mileage ticket, milliary, notification, advertisement, word of command, call, bugle call, trumpet call, bell, alarum, cry, battle cry, rallying cry, angelus, reveille, sacring bell, sanctus bell, exposition &c (explanation), proof, pattern, indicating, indicative, indicatory, denotative, connotative, diacritical, representative, typical, symbolic, pantomimic, pathognomonic, symptomatic, characteristic, demonstrative, diagnostic, exponential, emblematic, armorial, individual, known by, recognizable by, indicated, pointed, marked, denotable, indelible, in token of, symbolically, in dumb show, ecce signum, ex ungue leonem, ex pede Herculem, vide ut supra, vultus ariete fortior.