释义 |
▪ I. proving, vbl. n.|ˈpruːvɪŋ| Forms: see prove v.; also 3 preofunge, 6 preeving. [f. prove v. + -ing1.] The action of prove v. 1. a. Testing, trial, probation; † experience. Now arch. or techn. (See also 6.)
c1325Spec. Gy Warw. 335 Man, woltou make a god prouing, Wher þu loue þe heuene king? a1340Hampole Psalter ix. 10 Þai at haf felid the suetnes in þaire saule.., and knawis it be prouynge. 1382Wyclif Jas. i. 3 The prouyng [1388 preuyng] of ȝoure feith werchith pacience. a1450Myrc Festial 18 Hegh preuyng of our fay. 1591Spenser M. Hubberd 1366 [He] Bad him stay at ease till further preeving. 1837Whittock, etc. Bk. Trades (1842) 287 (Gun-maker) Proving..consists in loading each barrel with a ball of its own size upon as much powder as the ball weighs. 1846Trench Mirac. i. (1862) 112 A proving of men's temperance..in the midst of abundance. b. Homœopathy. The testing of a drug (see prove v. 1 f).
1843Brit. Jrnl. Homœopathy I. 291 In the provings of the insoluble substances, such as calcarea, silica, &c., the symptoms produced by the first doses are rarely experienced..in the subsequent ones. 1881Encycl. Brit. XII. 126/2 The record of such provings constitutes a large part of the literature of homœopathy. 1905J. H. Clarke Homœopathy Explained xvi. 122 There is always this check in homœopathy—the provings can be tested in practice. 1936H. A. Roberts Princ. & Art of Cure by Homœopathy i. 16 The results of such investigation would enrich the homœopathic materia medica by completing provings of some of the older remedies, and by bringing out provings of new remedies. 1975C. H. Sharma Man, Homoeopathy & Natural Med. i. 16 Before a homoeopathic remedy can be used by a physician, it has to go through a series of ‘provings’. †2. A proof, a demonstration. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 160 Sutel preofunge is þet heo was muchel one, þe heold so silence. 3. The obtaining probate (of a will).
c1440Jacob's Well 25 For provyng of testamentys. 1633Spelman Prob. Wills Wks. 1723 II. 129 The ancient manner of opening, publishing, or as we call it, proving of Wills. 4. a. The action of showing to be true, genuine, or valid; demonstration.
a1533Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell 336 The proving of good works doth neither make for purgatory nor against it. 1827Whately Logic ii. iii. (ed. 2) 246 One might..define Proving, ‘the assigning of a reason or argument for the support of a given proposition’. 1898Sir W. Crookes in Daily News 8 Sept. 6/3 It has been said that ‘Nothing worth the proving can be proved nor yet disproved’. b. N. Amer. The action of establishing a claim. Also with up. Cf. prove v. 12.
1958J. G. Macgregor Northwest of 16 v. 67 They also had to bring fifteen acres under cultivation and to erect some sort of abode. (Carrying out these obligations and getting title to the land was termed ‘proving up’.) †5. Turning out; issue; thriving. (prove v. 10.)
a1529Skelton El. Rummyng 185 God gyve it yll preuynge. 6. attrib. chiefly in sense 1, orig. in names of things used in some testing process.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Proving-press, an apparatus for testing the strength of iron girders, and other castings, by pressure. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Proving-machine, one for testing the resistance of springs or the strength of materials... Proving-pump, a forcing-pump for testing boilers, tubes, etc. 1881Raymond Mining Gloss., Proving-hole, a small heading driven to find and follow a coal-seam, lost by a dislocation. 1899Westm. Gaz. 27 July 5/2 Experiments are being made at the Sandy Hook proving grounds. 1944Air News Yearbk. II. 188 Poland and Norway represented the ‘proving ground’. 1948‘N. Shute’ No Highway i. 28 They did a whole lot of proving flights over the route before they put it into regular operation. 1959Listener 15 Jan. 147/2 And, finally, proving time: once you have reconstituted the yeast and made a dough, carry on with your normal timing. 1971M. Lee Dying for Fun ix. 55 All over his desk were scattered invitations—art galleries, press conferences..air trips and proving flights. 1975Harpers & Queen May 27/1 The other day, I and my dough came to be separated at a crucial point in the ‘proving’ process. 1979Nature 8 Feb. 430/1 Scientists have used astronomy as a proving ground for theories of gravity ever since Newton explained the sizes and shapes of the planetary orbits. ▪ II. proving, ppl. a.|ˈpruːvɪŋ| [f. as prec. + -ing2.] That proves, in various senses: Trying, testing; affording proof; thriving: see the verb.
1620Form of Service in Sprot Scott. Liturgies Jas. VI (1901) 5 After experience both of thy manifold goodness and proving corrections. 1670Eachard Cont. Clergy 26 To think, that one such proving lad should make recompense..for those many weak ones. 1824H. Campbell Love Lett. Mary Q. Scots Pref. 9 The proving argument was in them. |