experiencen.
/ᵻkˈspɪərɪəns/, /ɛkˈspɪərɪəns/, U.S. /ɪkˈspɪriəns/, /ɛkˈspɪriəns/ a. The action of putting to the test; trial. to make experience of: to make trial of. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > [noun]
fandingc1000
taste1377
experimenta1382
experience1393
probationc1422
trial1526
test1594
verification1603
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > [noun]
fandingc1000
costningOE
assay1330
say?c1335
assayingc1375
experimenta1382
proofc1390
experience1393
tastinga1400
probationc1422
probe?a1425
approof1436
fraistingc1440
examination?1510
saying1512
approving1523
trial1526
test1594
approbationa1616
trya1616
proval1622
tempting1623
probatea1643
experimental1659
testinga1834
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 14 At Avynon thexperience Therof haþ ȝoue an euidence.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. xlii. 15 Now y schal take experience [1382 experyment] of ȝou.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. i. sig. M7 Of all the which..She [sc. Astræa] caused him [sc. Artegall] to make experience Vpon wyld beasts. View more context for this quotation
1631 J. Shirley Schoole of Complement i. i Make Experience of my loyalty, by some service.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. Ep. Ded. sig. A ijv The Art of Shorthand..much wondered at by Travailers, that have seen the experience of it in England.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > [noun] > an experiment
experiencec1384
adventurec1405
conclusion1430
experiment1594
essay1605
specimen1610
tentative1632
periclitation1658
tentamen1673
say-hand1712
try-out1903
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame ii. 280 I prove it..Be experience, for if that thou Threw in a water now, a stone [etc.].
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. viii. 47 Nowe have I made inoculacion Of pere and appultree: the experience Hath preved wel.
1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health ii. f. 112 The Aucthour..hath both seene, and done many experiences worthy memorie.
1652 W. Blith Eng. Improver Improved ix. 60 They will tell you a story of I know not what experiences they have made, when alas they never knew that an Experiment must hold in all its parts.
1678 R. Russel tr. Jabir ibn Haiyan Wks. Geber ii. i. iv. i. 86 All which..we shall..declare, with their Causes and with easie Experiences.
1763 E. Carter in Pennington Mem. (1816) I. 301 I was..assured, by people who have made the experience, that [etc.].
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > [noun] > by practical means
experience1393
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 138 Thus hath this king experience, How fooles done the reverence To gold.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §1. 15 I..found the point of my rewle..a lite[l] with-in the degree & than haddy of this conclusioun the ful experience.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 5 I had hereof good experyence.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xxii. 469 Ye maye well perceyve the experyence of it every day.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxix. f. lvii Sene they wolde not receyue Peace of theyr Bretheme, they shuld of other receyue warre and wreche, The whiche was after put in experience by Ethelfridus Kynge of Northumberland.
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido iv. iv And now to make experience of my love, Fair sister Anna, lead my lover forth.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. v. i. §1. 309 The experience that Pyrrhus hath giuen, of the Roman power, in his daies.
1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. iii. 68 I have a full Experience of that, and thought my Happiness always compleat in it.
3. The actual observation of facts or events, considered as a source of knowledge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > [noun] > observing or watching > observation as source of knowledge
experience1377
observe1660
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xviii. 151 Thorw experience..I hope þei shal be saued.
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors ii. f. 13 Therfore the Mariners by experience tryinge that one flame..signified tempest at hand, supposed the same flame to be the goddesse Helena.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 121v To powre into his mouth wine and oyle..we finde by experience, is very good.
1651 R. Wittie tr. J. Primrose Pop. Errours i. xiv. 51 Experience teacheth that Agarick purges fleame.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. ii. 35 It is not so much a Deduction of Reason, as a Matter of Experience.
1765 O. Goldsmith Traveller (ed. 2) 20 Just experience tells..That those who think must govern those that toil.
1785 T. Reid Ess. Intellect. Powers 627 Experience informs us only of what has been, but never of what must be.
1830 J. F. W. Herschel Prelim. Disc. Study Nat. Philos. ii. i. 76 The..only ultimate source of our knowledge of nature and its laws, experience; by which we mean..the accumulated experience of all mankind in all ages, registered in books or recorded by tradition.
1851 A. Helps Friends in Council I. 19 By making men as gods, enabling them to understand without experience.
1862 J. F. Stephen Ess. Barrister 329 Daily experience informs us of the consequences.
4.
a. The fact of being consciously the subject of a state or condition, or of being consciously affected by an event. Also an instance of this; a state or condition viewed subjectively; an event by which one is affected.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > experience or event by which one is affected
experience1382
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > fact of being affected or experience
experience1382
experimental1628
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xxx. 27 Laban seide to him..thurȝ experyens Y haue lernyd for God hath blissid to me for thee.
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Prol. 1 Experiens..were ynough for me To speke of wo that is in mariage.
14.. Purific. Marie in Tundale's Vis. 129 To have experiens Only of chyldyng.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Bbii v Please god that ye vnderstande it by experiens.
1615 J. Stephens Ess. & Characters (new ed.) 172 A complete man..knowes what experience can teach, but is not taught by experience.
1693 C. Mather Wonders Invisible World Churches, whose Communicants have been seriously examined about their Experience of Regeneration.
1846 N. Hawthorne Mosses from Old Manse II. 32 A man of science..who..had made experience of a spiritual affinity, more attractive than any chemical one.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 254 Both..had learned by experience how soon James forgot obligations.
1874 D. M. Mulock My Mother & I 8 Many another girl has gone thro' a similar experience.
1878 J. D. Hooker & J. Ball Jrnl. Tour Marocco 269 Another unlooked-for experience was in store for us.
b. In religious use: A state of mind or feeling forming part of the inner religious life; the mental history (of a person) with regard to religious emotion. Also attributive, esp. in experience-meeting, a meeting (e.g. a Methodist class meeting or love-feast) held for the recital of religious experiences.
ΚΠ
1674 J. Owen Disc. Holy Spirit (1693) 49 Testified unto by the Experience of them that truely believe.
1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. ii. 47 (margin) A Repetition of Christiana's Experience . View more context for this quotation
1746 J. Edwards Treat. Relig. Affections ii. 45 Those Experiences which are agreable to the Word of God, are right.
1841–4 R. W. Emerson Ess. 1st Ser. 256 The rapture of the Moravian and Quietist..the experiences of the Methodists, are varying forms [etc.].
1849 H. Miller Foot-prints of Creator 244 Ought the Christian controversialist to avail himself, in this question, of the experience argument?
1857 S. G. Goodrich Recoll. Lifetime I. 214 [At these meetings] there was praying, and exhorting, and telling experiences, and singing..sentimental religious hymns.
5. In senses 3, 4 often personified; esp. in various proverbial phrases.
ΚΠ
c1450 Nun 150 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 142 ‘What ys yowr name, dame empryse?’ Sche seyde ‘my name ys experience.’
1578 T. Tymme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Genesis 249 Experience..is the schoolmaistresse of fooles.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons sig. *2 b Experience is the mother of Science.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. ii. 34 Experience, oh thou disproou'st Report.
1646 Bp. J. Hall Balme of Gilead 301 If experience be the mistresse of fools, I am sure it is the mother of wisdome.
1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety v. 104 Experience is the daughter of Time.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. i. 13 Experience is the child of Thought.
6. What has been experienced; the events that have taken place within the knowledge of an individual, a community, humankind at large, either during a particular period or generally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > experience or event by which one is affected > experience or what has been experienced
experience1607
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue 31 I can finde nothing in mine experience to contradict your speech.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. vi. 423 Her animosity against the queen of Scots was greatly augmented by recent experience.
1861 J. S. Mill Considerations Representative Govt. xviii. 340 Profound study of Indian experience.
7. † b. A piece of experimental knowledge; a fact, maxim, rule, or device drawn from or approved by experience; concrete something expertly fashioned. Obsolete.
a. Knowledge resulting from actual observation or from what one has undergone.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > experience > [noun]
sentimentc1374
assaya1387
proofa1387
feelingc1405
instructionc1425
experience1553
experiency1556
self-experience1599
trial1600
1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India Pref. sig. aavij It hardelye agreeth with the principles of Philosophie & common experience.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue 39 I have no further experience of you then the bare report of my Tenant.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iv. i. 24 Jaq. Yes, I haue gain'd my experience. Ros. And your experience makes you sad. View more context for this quotation
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall Ep. Ded. sig. A2 Having no old experience of the duration of their Reliques.
1791 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) III. 20 Most men have the generosity to pay for their own experience.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 22 I had had but little experience of alpine phenomena.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > [noun] > observation
consideration1477
observation1550
experience1570
note1577
reflection1610
reflexa1641
sagacities1867
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or art > skill or craftsmanship > instance(s) or example(s) of
experience1670
fineries1713
1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. biiiv This Arte [sc. Astrology] is furnished with many other great Artes and experiences.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 170 Some haue an other experience for this purpose, and that is Potshards beaten small..and geuen vnto them [sc. Doves].
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iii. i. 25 How hast thou purchased this experience ? View more context for this quotation
1621 R. Bolton Statutes Ireland 330 Sir Percy Sidney..hath..found amongst other experiences the great abuse of the clergie there.
1657 T. Barker Barker's Delight (1659) 51 I have found an experience [i.e. salmon roe as bait] of late which you may angle with, and take great store of this kind of fish.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 14 I will add one old approved Experience for the Mariners use..that is, to cut Hair, the Moon in [Taurus, etc.].
1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) ii. 212 Here I saw the schooles..full of pretty curiosityes and experiences..mecanical, mathematical, and hydraulical.
8. The state of having been occupied in any department of study or practice, in affairs generally, or in the intercourse of life; the extent to which, or the length of time during which, one has been so occupied; the aptitudes, skill, judgement, etc. thereby acquired.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill acquired by experience
practicc1425
experience1483
1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton A viij He ought to haue thexperience..to knowe what thynge right is.
1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiii v The duke of suthfolke..was a man of grete experyence.
1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 11 To the perfecte knowlege wherof bee requisite bothe grete lernyng and ripe experience.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. Prol. f. ii To theym that..haue in Cronycles full experyence.
1587 J. Hooker tr. Giraldus Cambrensis Vaticinall Hist. Conquest Ireland ii. xl. 56/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II By reason of their continuall wars, they are verie valient, bold, and of great experiences.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iv. 67 His yeares but yong, but his experience old. View more context for this quotation
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 38 Observations, and Reflections; out of which, that, which is commonly call'd Experience, is constituted.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 98. ⁋2 You are stricken in Years, and have had great Experience in the World.
1735 Visct. Bolingbroke Diss. upon Parties (ed. 2) 2 There is need of..those Habits in Business, called Experience.
1770 E. Burke Corr. (1844) I. 240 His experience in the world is but moderate.
1828 R. Whately Elem. Rhetoric ii. §7 The authority derived from Experience.
Compounds
experience philosophy n. experiential philosophy.
ΚΠ
1859 J. S. Mill Lett. (1910) I. 225 The experience philosophy and the association psychology are getting up again.
1909 W. James Pluralistic Universe 390 This is effectuation in the only shape in which, by a pure experience-philosophy, the whereabouts of it anywhere can be discussed.
experience school n. the school of empiricism.
ΚΠ
1882 A. Bain James Mill iii. 69 Mr. Ward has continued to uphold his peculiar tenets against the Experience-school.
1936 Mind 45 242 He holds (as some members of the ‘experience-school’ do) that feeling..is also a cognitive function.
experience table n. a table of mortality computed from the experience of one or more life-assurance companies.
ΚΠ
1879 W. S. Champness Insur. Dict. (1883) 106 The Experience Table is based on that of seventeen British Life Offices.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
experiencev.
/ᵻkˈspɪərɪəns/, /ɛkˈspɪərɪəns/, U.S. /ɪkˈspɪriəns/, /ɛkˈspɪriəns/ I. To make trial or test, and related senses.† 1. † b. To ascertain or prove by experiment or observation; chiefly with sentence as object. Also rarely, To prove or reveal (a thing) to (a person) by experience. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To make trial or experiment of; to put to the test; to test, try. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > make experiment of or with [verb (transitive)]
afondc1300
assailc1300
found1340
assay1377
taste1382
experiment1524
experience1541
try1545
attempt1563
practise1632
explore1667
experimentate1670
to taste of1700
to try out1888
to try (something)(on) for size1979
fand-
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) iii. vi. 62 b In extreme necessitie it were better experience some remedy, than to do nothynge.
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. iii. 195 Alexander..experienc'd him in some intricate business, and found him a person of worth.
1689 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum (ed. 2) iv. 46 Having never experienced them for these Fish, I dare not be positive.
1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 368 Persuade their governess to experience their zeal.
1780 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 200 That the expences of the Sessions dinners..be experienced for a few Sessions.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > try, test [verb (transitive)]
cuneOE
afondOE
found1340
searcha1382
experiment1481
experience1541
probe1542
try1545
invent1548
sound1589
to bring or put to the test1594
plumb1599
to feel out1600
essay1656
test1748
plumb-line1875
to try out1888
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) G iij b I my selfe have often experienced, the best remedy is [etc.].
1657 T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 333 This Quartermaster..had one hundred good horses in town..for what purpose time will experience.
1690 Lady Russell Lett. II. cxvi. 80 This trial has..experienced to me my sad weakness.
1750 tr. C. Leonardus Mirror of Stones 82 It has been experienced, that if it be hung about the neck, it will cure the epilepsy.
2.
a. To have experience of; to meet with; to feel, suffer, undergo.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)] > be subjected to or undergo an action > undergo or experience
feelOE
seeOE
passa1325
provec1330
attastec1374
wielda1375
tastec1380
sufferc1390
to pass through ——c1400
expert?a1475
traverse1477
experiment1484
savour1509
to taste of1526
to go through ——1535
sustain1575
approve1578
try1578
experience1588
undergo1600
to run through ——1602
pree1806
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Comm. Notable Thinges in tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 349 [He] declared unto them, as one that had experienced the same, the rewarde of that good deede.
1645 J. Saltmarsh Opening Prynnes New Bk. 3 We experience in part some remainders of Prelacy.
1646 J. Saltmarsh Smoke in Temple 56 [The author defends his use of the verb (see quot. 1645) on the ground that useful neologisms are permissible].
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. ii. 41 The whole Passage is..applicable, to what we experience in the present World.
1773 J. Allen Assoc. against Established Church Indefensible 25 They who experience his loving kindness.
1847 L. H. Kerr tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Servia 334 He was himself soon to experience a similar fate.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xviii. 129 I experienced no trace of mountain sickness.
b. To learn (a fact) by experience; to find. With direct object and infinitive, or with sentence as object. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > experience > [verb (transitive)]
haveeOE
cuneOE
supOE
yfeeleOE
afondOE
canOE
seeOE
knowc1175
provea1200
feelc1225
passa1325
fraistc1330
wielda1375
wita1450
experiment1484
approve1578
experiencea1586
resent1595
fand-
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xxvii. sig. Gg1 Pamela..had now experienced how much care doth sollicite a Louers hart.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 46 The divine Government, which we experience Ourselves under the present State.
1739 C. Labelye Short Acct. Piers Westm. Bridge 63 That River is experienced not rapid enough to occasion any Damage to the Piers of those Bridges.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 621 I then experienced what I knew before hand, that there are [etc.].
1858 N. Hawthorne Fr. & Ital. Jrnls. I. 88 I have experienced that a landscape and the sky unfold the deepest beauty.
c. transferred. Of a thing: To meet with, undergo.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (transitive)] > encounter or experience
ymetec893
findeOE
meetOE
counterc1325
overtakec1390
limp?a1400
tidea1400
runa1450
to fall with ——?c1475
onlightc1475
recounterc1485
recount1490
to come in witha1500
occur1531
to fall on ——1533
to fall upon ——1533
beshine1574
rencontre1582
entertain1591
cope with1594
happen1594
tocome1596
incur1599
forgather1600
thwart1601
to fall in1675
cross1684
to come across ——1738
to cross upon (or on)1748
to fall across ——1760
experience1786
to drop in1802
encounter1814
to come upon ——1820
to run against ——1821
to come in contact with1862
to run across ——1864
to knock or run up against1886
to knock up against1887
1786 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 24 The treaties..have experienced greater delay than was expected.
1794 R. J. Sulivan View of Nature I. 217 Holland often experiences a degree of cold greater than countries placed under higher latitudes.
1828 J. M. Spearman Brit. Gunner 198 The resistance experienced by the base of the cone.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. xii. 420 His bodily strength was..visibly experiencing decay.
d. to experience religion: to be converted. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > preaching > conversion > convert [verb (intransitive)]
turnc1225
converta1400
to come through1708
to get religion1772
to see the light1812
to experience religion1837
vert1888
to find religion (also Christ, God, Jesus, etc.)1957
1837 Knickerbocker 9 356 I have ‘experienced religion’, as well as thousands of others, and in the same way.
a1852 F. M. Whitcher Widow Bedott Papers (1883) xx. 80 He was a wonderful pious pedlar..had jest experienced religion.
1868 O. W. Holmes Guardian Angel xii Some went so far as to doubt if she had ever experienced religion, for all she was a professor.
1891 K. D. Wiggin Timothy's Quest 136 You'd think nobody ever experienced religion afore, he's so set up 'bout it.
3. † b. To gain experience in, practise the use of (arms). Obsolete. rare.
a. To give experience to; to make experienced; to train (soldiers). Also, in passive: To be informed or taught by experience (Const. of, or with subordinate clause). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > training > train [verb (transitive)]
to teach of1297
exercec1374
informc1384
schoolc1456
break1474
instruct1510
nuzzle1519
train1531
train1542
frame1547
experience?c1550
to trade up1556
disciplinea1586
disciple1596
nursle1596
accommodate1640
educate1643
model1665
form1711
to break in1785
scholar1807
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Eng. Hist. (1846) I. 64 Well experienced that mistruste or confidence depended on the first casualltie of the battaile.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 318 The foot-men..being experienced to runne suddainely with the horse-men, leaped into the battaile.
1612 W. Parkes Curtaine-drawer 25 Whom no tryall can experience, whom no de[s]truction can forewarne.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 509 Able to heare of Cupid, though not..experienced by wound of his force.
1627 R. Cotton Short View Life & Raigne Henry III 25 The King by this, experienced of the intents of his rebellious Lords, and finding, etc.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 567 Experience thy Soule in the comforts of Christs dying.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > drill or training > drill [verb (transitive)] > exercise weapons
exercise1713
experience1727
1727 W. Harte Statius' 6th Thebaid in Poems 110 The youthful sailors..Their arms experience, and for sea prepare.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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