proof

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Derived terms 1.3.3 Related terms 1.3.4 Translations 1.4 Adjective 1.4.1 Derived terms 1.4.2 Translations 1.5 Verb 1.6 External links

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

< Middle English proof < Old French prove < Late Latin proba (“‘a proof’”) < Latin probare (“‘to prove’”); see prove.

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /pɹuːf/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

• Rhymes: -uːf

[edit] Noun

proof (plural proofs)

1. Any effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial.
   • (A date for this quote is being sought): Edmund Spenser,

     For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof.

   • (A date for this quote is being sought): Ford,

     You shall have many proofs to show your skill.

   • (A date for this quote is being sought): Ure,

     Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits was practiced, called the proof.

2. The degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments which induce, or tend to induce, certainty of the judgment; conclusive evidence; demonstration.
   • (A date for this quote is being sought): William Shakespeare,

     I'll have some proof.

   • (A date for this quote is being sought): Ralph Waldo Emerson,

     It is no proof of a man's understanding to be able to confirm whatever he pleases.

   • 1990 October 28, Paul Simon, “Proof”, The Rhythm of the Saints, Warner Bros.

     Faith, faith is an island in the setting sun / But proof, proof is the bottom line for everyone

3. The quality or state of having been proved or tried; firmness or hardness which resists impression, or doesn't yield to force; impenetrability of physical bodies.
4. Firmness of mind; stability not to be shaken.
5. (printing) A proof sheet; a trial impression, as from type, taken for correction or examination.
6. (mathematics): A process for testing the accuracy of an operation performed. Compare prove, transitive verb, 5.
7. (obsolete): Armour of excellent or tried quality, and deemed impenetrable; properly, armour of proof.
8. (US) A measure of the alcohol content of liquor. Originally, in Britain, 100 proof was defined as 57.1% by volume (not used anymore). In the US, 100 proof means that the alcohol content is 50% of the total volume of the liquid, and thus, absolute alcohol would be 200 proof.

[edit] Synonyms

• testimony
• evidence
• reason
• argument
• trial
• demonstration

[edit] Derived terms

• artist's proof
• burden of proof
• proof reader
• proof of concept

[edit] Related terms

• prove
• probe

[edit] Translations

[edit] Adjective

proof (comparative more proof, superlative most proof)

1. Used in proving or testing; as, a proof load, or proof charge.
2. Firm or successful in resisting; as, proof against harm; waterproof; bombproof.

   I ... have found thee Proof against all temptation. -w:Milton.

   This was a good, stout proof article of faith. -w:Burke.

3. Being of a certain standard as to strength; -- said of alcoholic liquors.

[edit] Derived terms

• bulletproof
• mothproof
• sale-proof
• foolproof
• childproof
• waterproof
• prooftext
• shatter-proof

[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

to proof (third-person singular simple present proofs, present participle proofing, simple past and past participle proofed)

1. (colloquial) To proofread.

[edit] External links

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