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Webster 1913 Edition


Probation

Pro-ba′tion

,
Noun.
[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.

Webster 1828 Edition


Probation

PROBA'TION

,
Noun.
[L. probatio.] The act of proving; proof.
1.
Trial; examination; any proceeding designed to ascertain truth; in universities, the examination of a student, as to his qualifications for a degree.
2.
In a monastic sense, trial or the year of novitiate,which a person must pass in a convent, to prove his virtue and his ability to bear the severities of the rule.
3.
Moral trial; the state of man in the present life, in which he has the opportunity of proving his character and being qualified for a happier state.
Probation will end with the present life.
4.
In America, the trial of a clergyman's qualifications as a minister of the gospel, preparatory to his settlement. We say, a man is preaching on probation.
5.
In general, trial for proof, or satisfactory evidence, or the time of trial.

Definition 2024


probation

probation

English

Noun

probation (plural probations)

  1. A period of time when a person occupies a position only conditionally and may easily be removed for poor performance
    You'll be on probation for first six months. After that, if you work out, they'll hire you permanently.
  2. A type of sentence where convicted criminals are allowed to continue living in the community but will automatically be sent to jail if they violate certain conditions
    He got two years probation for robbery.
  3. (archaic) The act of testing; proof
    • 1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist, page 20,
      And I shall proceed to consider the testimony of Experience, when I shall have first advertis'd You, that if Men were as perfectly rational as 'tis to be wish'd they were, this sensible way of Probation would be as needless as 'tis wont to be imperfect.
    • William Shakespeare, Hamlet, lines 148-156,
      And then it started like a guilty thing / Upon a fearful summons. I have heard, / The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, / Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat / Awake the god of day; and, at his warning, / Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air / The extravagant and erring spirit hies / To his confine: and of the truth herein / This present object made probation.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • probation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • probation in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

French

Noun

probation f (plural probations)

  1. probation (especially religious)