probe
English edit
Etymology edit
For verb: borrowed from Latin probare (“to test, examine, prove”), from probus (“good”). Doublet of prove.
For noun: borrowed from Late Latin proba (“a proof”), from probare (“to test, examine, prove”); Doublet of proof. Compare Spanish tienta (“a surgeon's probe”), from tentar (“try, test”); see tempt.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /pɹəʊb/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /pɹoʊb/
- Rhymes: -əʊb
Noun edit
probe (plural probes)
- (surgery) Any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc. [from 15th c.]
- (figuratively) Something which penetrates something else, as though to explore; something which obtains information. [from 17th c.]
- 1973 August 4, J. Ralf Green, “The Hossenpfepper Column”, in Gay Community News, page 3:
- Silverberg also gives the reader reader some excellent character insight; deep probes into the minds of all the principals bring the reader closer to the persons involved than might be thought possible with the plot so far removed from the realm of normality.
- An act of probing; a prod, a poke. [from 19th c.]
- (figuratively) An investigation or inquiry. [from 20th c.]
- They launched a probe into the cause of the accident.
- (aeronautics) A tube attached to an aircraft which can be fitted into the drogue from a tanker aircraft to allow for aerial refuelling. [from 20th c.]
- (sciences) A small device, especially an electrode, used to explore, investigate or measure something by penetrating or being placed in it. [from 20th c.]
- Insert the probe into the soil and read the temperature.
- (astronautics) A small, usually uncrewed, spacecraft used to acquire information or measurements about its surroundings. [from 20th c.]
- (go) a move with multiple answers seeking to make the opponent choose and commit to a strategy
- (biochemistry) Any group of atoms or molecules radioactively labeled in order to study a given molecule or other structure
Synonyms edit
- (game of go) yosu-miru
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc
|
investigation or inquiry
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sciences: electrode or other small device
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spacecraft
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radioactively labeled molecule
Verb edit
probe (third-person singular simple present probes, present participle probing, simple past and past participle probed)
- (transitive, intransitive) To explore, investigate, or question
- If you probe further, you may discover different reasons.
- 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:
- the growing disposition to probe the legality of all acts of the crown
- 2019, Chris Meyer, (Please provide the book title or journal name)[3], page 116:
- It was exhilarating to watch him share a meal and then probe deeper into the cultures, the politics, and the heartbeat of the people of the city or country he was in. He seemed so learned, but not in any pretentious way.
- (transitive) To insert a probe into.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
to explore, investigate, or question
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to insert a probe into
Further reading edit
- “probe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “probe”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Asturian edit
Adjective edit
probe (epicene, plural probes)
Derived terms edit
Galician edit
Verb edit
probe
- inflection of probar:
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Verb edit
probe
- inflection of proben:
Italian edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
probe
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Italic *proβwēd.
Adverb edit
probē (comparative probius, superlative probissimē)
Adjective edit
probe
References edit
- “probe”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “probe”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- probe in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Metathesized from pobre.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
probe m or f (masculine and feminine plural probes)
- (obsolete outside New Mexico) Alternative form of pobre