8 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Test \Test\, n. [OE. test test, or cupel, potsherd, F. t[^e]t,
from L. testum an earthen vessel; akin to testa a piece of
burned clay, an earthen pot, a potsherd, perhaps for tersta,
and akin to torrere to patch, terra earth (cf. {Thirst}, and
{Terrace}), but cf. Zend tasta cup. Cf. {Test} a shell,
{Testaceous}, {Tester} a covering, a coin, {Testy},
{T[^e]te-[`a]-t[^e]te}.]
1. (Metal.) A cupel or cupelling hearth in which precious
metals are melted for trial and refinement.
Our ingots, tests, and many mo. --Chaucer.
2. Examination or trial by the cupel; hence, any critical
examination or decisive trial; as, to put a man's
assertions to a test. ``Bring me to the test.'' --Shak.
3. Means of trial; as, absence is a test of love.
Each test every light her muse will bear. --Dryden.
4. That with which anything is compared for proof of its
genuineness; a touchstone; a standard.
Life, force, and beauty must to all impart, At once
the source, and end, and test of art. --Pope.
5. Discriminative characteristic; standard of judgment;
ground of admission or exclusion.
Our test excludes your tribe from benefit. --Dryden.
6. Judgment; distinction; discrimination.
Who would excel, when few can make a test Betwixt
indifferent writing and the best? --Dryden.
7. (Chem.) A reaction employed to recognize or distinguish
any particular substance or constituent of a compound, as
the production of some characteristic precipitate; also,
the reagent employed to produce such reaction; thus, the
ordinary test for sulphuric acid is the production of a
white insoluble precipitate of barium sulphate by means of
some soluble barium salt.
{Test act} (Eng. Law), an act of the English Parliament
prescribing a form of oath and declaration against
transubstantiation, which all officers, civil and
military, were formerly obliged to take within six months
after their admission to office. They were obliged also to
receive the sacrament according to the usage of the Church
of England. --Blackstone.
{Test object} (Optics), an object which tests the power or
quality of a microscope or telescope, by requiring a
certain degree of excellence in the instrument to
determine its existence or its peculiar texture or
markings.
{Test paper}.
(a) (Chem.) Paper prepared for use in testing for certain
substances by being saturated with a reagent which
changes color in some specific way when acted upon by
those substances; thus, litmus paper is turned red by
acids, and blue by alkalies, turmeric paper is turned
brown by alkalies, etc.
(b) (Law) An instrument admitted as a standard or
comparison of handwriting in those jurisdictions in
which comparison of hands is permitted as a mode of
proving handwriting.
{Test tube}. (Chem.)
(a) A simple tube of thin glass, closed at one end, for
heating solutions and for performing ordinary
reactions.
(b) A graduated tube.
Syn: Criterion; standard; experience; proof; experiment;
trial.
Usage: {Test}, {Trial}. Trial is the wider term; test is a
searching and decisive trial. It is derived from the
Latin testa (earthen pot), which term was early
applied to the fining pot, or crucible, in which
metals are melted for trial and refinement. Hence the
peculiar force of the word, as indicating a trial or
criterion of the most decisive kind.
I leave him to your gracious acceptance, whose
trial shall better publish his commediation.
--Shak.
Thy virtue, prince, has stood the test of
fortune, Like purest gold, that tortured in the
furnace, Comes out more bright, and brings forth
all its weight. --Addison.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Test \Test\, n. [L. testis. Cf. {Testament}, {Testify}.]
A witness. [Obs.]
Prelates and great lords of England, who were for the
more surety tests of that deed. --Ld. Berners.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Test \Test\, v. i. [L. testari. See {Testament}.]
To make a testament, or will. [Obs.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Test \Test\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tested}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Testing}.]
1. (Metal.) To refine, as gold or silver, in a test, or
cupel; to subject to cupellation.
2. To put to the proof; to prove the truth, genuineness, or
quality of by experiment, or by some principle or
standard; to try; as, to test the soundness of a
principle; to test the validity of an argument.
Experience is the surest standard by which to test
the real tendency of the existing constitution.
--Washington.
3. (Chem.) To examine or try, as by the use of some reagent;
as, to test a solution by litmus paper.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Test \Test\, Testa \Tes"ta\, n.; pl. E. {Tests}, L. {Test[ae]}.
[L. testa a piece of burned clay, a broken piece of
earthenware, a shell. See {Test} a cupel.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) The external hard or firm covering of many
invertebrate animals.
Note: The test of crustaceans and insects is composed largely
of chitin; in mollusks it is composed chiefly of
calcium carbonate, and is called the shell.
2. (Bot.) The outer integument of a seed; the episperm, or
spermoderm.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
test
n 1: any standardized procedure for measuring sensitivity or
memory or intelligence or aptitude or personality etc;
"the test was standardized on a large sample of
students" [syn: {mental test}, {mental testing}, {psychometric
test}]
2: the act of testing something; "in the experimental trials
the amount of carbon was measured separately"; "he called
each flip of the coin a new trial" [syn: {trial}, {run}]
3: the act of undergoing testing; "he survived the great test
of battle"; "candidates must compete in a trial of skill"
[syn: {trial}]
4: trying something to find out about it; "a sample for ten
days free trial"; "a trial of progesterone failed to
relieve the pain" [syn: {trial}, {trial run}, {tryout}]
5: a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or
knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to
make a new set of questions" [syn: {examination}, {exam}]
6: a hard outer covering as of some amoebas and sea urchins
v 1: put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental
use to; "This approach has been tried with good
results"; "Test this recipe" [syn: {prove}, {try}, {try
out}, {examine}, {essay}]
2: test or examine for the presence of disease or infection;
"screen the blood for the HIV virus" [syn: {screen}]
3: examine someone's knowledge of something; "The teacher tests
us every week"; "We got quizzed on French irregular verbs"
[syn: {quiz}]
4: show a certain characteristic when tested; "He tested
positive for HIV"
5: achieve a certain score or rating on a test; "She tested
high on the LSAT and was admitted to all the good law
schools"
6: determine the presence or properties of (a substance)
7: undergo a test; "She doesn't test well"
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
test n. 1. Real users bashing on a prototype long enough to get
thoroughly acquainted with it, with careful monitoring and followup of
the results. 2. Some bored random user trying a couple of the simpler
features with a developer looking over his or her shoulder, ready to
pounce on mistakes. Judging by the quality of most software, the second
definition is far more prevalent. See also {demo}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
test
<testing> The process of exercising a product to identify
differences between expected and actual behaviour. Typically
testing is bottom-up: {unit testing} and {integration testing}
by developers, {system testing} by testers, and {user
acceptance testing} by users.
{Test coverage} attempts to assess how complete a test has
been.
2. The second stage in a {generate and test} search
{algorithm}.
[{Jargon File}]
(2003-09-24)