test

test · noun, verb¹

1. Latin · derived fromtestum“the lid of an earthen vessel, an earthen vessel, an earthen pot”
2. Old French · derived fromtest
3. Middle English · inherited fromtest
4. English todaytest

From Middle English test, teste, from Old French test, teste (“an earthen vessel, especially a pot in which metals were tried”), from Latin testum (“the lid of an earthen vessel, an earthen vessel, an earthen pot”), from *terstus, past participle of the root *tersa (“dry land”). See terra, thirst. The examination sense came via metaphor of the metallurgical sense: the way a metallurgist puts to the test their gold, a teacher may put to the test their students' knowledge. Displaced Old English afandung.

test · noun, verb²

1. Latin · derived fromtestis“one who attests, a witness”
2. Old French · derived fromteste
3. Middle English · inherited fromteste
4. English todaytest

From Middle English teste, from Old French teste, test and Latin testis (“one who attests, a witness”).

Test · noun, proper noun³

The river is first attested 877 as Terstan. The name is of Brythonic origin, possibly related to Welsh trais (“violence, battle”).

Words from the same roots