[Eng.]
Probate
(Pro"bate) v. t. To obtain the official approval of, as of an instrument purporting to be the last
will and testament; as, the executor has probated the will.
Probation
(Pro*ba"tion) n. [L. probatio, fr. probare to try, examine, prove: cf. F. probation. See Prove.]
1. The act of proving; also, that which proves anything; proof. [Obs.]
When by miracle God dispensed great gifts to the laity, . . . he gave probation that he intended that all
should prophesy and preach.
Jer. Taylor. 2. Any proceeding designed to ascertain truth, to determine character, qualification, etc.; examination; trial; as,
to engage a person on probation. Hence, specifically: (a) The novitiate which a person must pass in a
convent, to probe his or her virtue and ability to bear the severities of the rule. (b) The trial of a ministerial
candidate's qualifications prior to his ordination, or to his settlement as a pastor. (c) Moral trial; the state
of man in the present life, in which he has the opportunity of proving his character, and becoming qualified
for a happier state.
No [view of human life] seems so reasonable as that which regards it as a state of probation.
Paley. Probational
(Pro*ba"tion*al) a. Probationary.
Probationary
(Pro*ba"tion*a*ry) a. Of or pertaining to probation; serving for trial.
To consider this life . . . as a probationary state.
Paley. Probationer
(Pro*ba"tion*er) n.
1. One who is undergoing probation; one who is on trial; a novice.
While yet a young probationer,
And candidate of heaven.
Dryden. 2. A student in divinity, who, having received certificates of good morals and qualifications from his university,
is admitted to several trials by a presbytery, and, on acquitting himself well, is licensed to preach. [Scot.]
Probationership
(Pro*ba"tion*er*ship), n. The state of being a probationer; novitiate. Locke.
Probationship
(Pro*ba"tion*ship), n. A state of probation.
Probative
(Pro"ba*tive) a. [L. probativus: cf. F. probatif.] Serving for trial or proof; probationary; as,
probative judgments; probative evidence. South.
Probator
(Pro*ba"tor) n. [L.]
