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Also see: ban

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
test1

▶noun

• 1 a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something.

  ■ a short examination of a person's skill or knowledge.

  ■ a difficult situation revealing the strength or quality of someone or something.

  ■ an examination of part of the body or a body fluid for medical purposes.

  ■ Chemistry a procedure employed to identify a substance or to reveal the presence or absence of a constituent within a substance.

• 2 a means of testing something.

• 3 (Test) short for Test match.

• 4 Metallurgy a movable hearth in a reverberating furnace, used for separating gold or silver from lead.

▶verb subject to a test.

■ produce a specified result in a medical test.

■ Chemistry examine by means of a reagent.

■ touch or taste before proceeding further.

– phrases
test the water ascertain feelings or opinions before proceeding further.

– derivatives
testability noun,
testable adjective,
testee noun.

– origin ME (denoting a cupel used to treat gold or silver alloys or ore): via OFr. from L. testu, testum ‘earthen pot’, var. of testa ‘jug, shell’; cf. test2.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
test2

▶noun Zoology the shell or integument of some invertebrates and protozoans.

– origin C19: from L. testa ‘tile, jug, shell’; cf. test1.