α. Middle English examynoure, Middle English–1700s examinor, 1500s examynor, 1500s examynour; also Scottish pre-1700 examynour.
β. 1500s examyner, 1500s– examiner; also Scottish pre-1700 examinar.
examinern.
/ᵻɡˈzamᵻnə/, /ɛɡˈzamᵻnə/, U.S. /ɪɡˈzæmənər/, /ɛɡˈzæmənər/ 1. Law.
a. A person who formally questions a witness; (also) one who conducts a judicial inquiry. Later also in less formal contexts: a person who questions someone closely; an interrogator.See also cross-examiner n. at cross-examine v. Derivatives.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > [noun] > one who judges or decides > conducting enquiry
examinera1325
examinator1564
examinanta1797
a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) xxv. 85 Þe examinors of þe parties.
?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth xxvi. f. 36v He was elect to be one of ye examynors or commyssioners to make inquisycion of these thre poyntes rehersed.
a1676 M. Hale Hist. Common Law (1713) xii. §9 A crafty Clerk, Commissioner, or Examiner, will make a Witness speak what he truly never meant.
1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 1327 Nor did they [sc. the Apostles]..alter any one of them [sc. circumstances] upon different examinations before different Examiners.
1724 W. Bohun Practising Attorney ii. 194 The Examiner is not to examine any Witness to invalidate the Credit of any other Witness, but by special Order of the Court.
1784 Polit. Mag. & Parl. Jrnl. 7 226/2 His own friends and recommenders to be his only examiners and accusers.
1824 European Mag. & London Rev. Aug. 127/2 The deep penetrating glances with which his examiner accompanied every interrogation.
1899 Southwestern Reporter 50 124/1 It..enables the examiner to lead even an honest witness in such manner as to give to the testimony a false color.
1972 R. Davies Manticore i. i. 3 He was an intelligent examiner, and at times I was conscious of being an unsatisfactory witness.
1990 J. V. Matson Effective Expert Witnessing v. 56 When the examiner asks a question, a potential opportunity exists for reinforcing points made under direct examination.
b. spec. Originally (more fully Examiner in Chancery and variants): an officer of a court of equity who takes down in writing witnesses' testimonies (now historical and rare). In later use: a person appointed to take down in writing depositions made out of court, esp. by witnesses unable to attend in person. (Now the usual legal sense.)
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society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > other officers of specific courts
alderman1275
steward of the manor1303
Queen's (also King's) Proctor?a1425
remembrancer1451
augmentationer1550
associate1552
procurator-fiscal1564
proctor-fiscal1565
chafer1587
custos brevium1589
examiner1594
chafe-wax1607
exceptor1728
procurator general1740
Marshal of the (Court of) Admiralty1769
Pundit of the Supreme Court1827
1594 W. West Three Treat. 2nd Pt. Symbolæogr. sig. C6 The parties being so at issue, they either examine their witnesses before the examiners of the Chauncerie in court, or doe procure a commission, ad examinand' test'.
1650 Proposalls conc. Chancery 23 The Regulating of the Fees and Officers of the Examiners Office,..the Cursistors Office, and all the other Offices belonging to the said Court of Chancery.
1660 M. Carter Honor Rediviuus 247 The Ghostly Fathers or Confessors were examiners in Chancery, as men held most conscionable, and thereupon fittest for that function.
1715 W. Bohun Cursus Cancellariæ ii. 34 The Oath of the Examiners in Chancery is thus, [etc.].
1792 N.-Y. Directory 179 Officers in Chancery. Edward Dunscomb, Examiner.
1835 A. W. Young Introd. to Sci. of Govt. & Compend of Constit. & Statutory Law 266 These proceedings are had before an examiner in chancery, who transmits them, with all the testimony, to the vice chancellor for adjudication.
1851 Acts Gen. Assembly Kentucky Nov. 1850 I. 188 The fee..shall be one dollar for each deposition, and five cents per mile for each mile that an examiner may have to travel in going to and returning from the place of the taking.
1911 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 25 Feb. 473/1 Lady Northwick, who was unable to leave her house, had made a deposition before an examiner.
1957 ABA Jrnl. May 418/1 S. C. Houghton, Examiner in Chancery, was directed to take testimony.
2012 C. McGourlay Evid. Statutes 2011–12 366 A deposition must..be signed by the examiner.
c.
(a) In bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings: a person appointed by the court to question a debtor formally with regard to financial liabilities, assets, conduct, etc.; (also and in earliest use) the office or position held by such a person.In quot. 1632: an office granted by the king.
ΚΠ
1632 in R. Sanderson Rymer's Fœdera (1732) XIX. 432/1 The King..grants to Edward Hawkins the Office of Examiner and Register to the Commissioners for Bankrupts in the Citty of London during Life.
1836 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. 20 ii. 1/2 It should be referred to the examiner of the court to inquire and report whether the factories could have been sold to any, and what greater, advantage, had they been duly advertised for sale.
1870 Solicitors' Jrnl. & Reporter 9 Apr. 477/1 ‘The Examiner’ shall mean the examiner of the late Insolvent Debtors Court.
1902 Standard 17 June 8/3 Formal evidence was given by..John William Roberts, one of the Examiners in Bankruptcy.
1990 Newsweek 6 Aug. 46/3 Charges that Lorenzo stripped Eastern of assets and ‘up-streamed’ them to nonunion Continental were supported by the bankruptcy examiner.
2010 Daily Southerner (Tarboro, N. Carolina) 30 Sept. 3/2 A bankruptcy court examiner accused a tobacco executive of buying the Chinqua Penn Plantation with company money.
(b) spec. In the Republic of Ireland: a person appointed by a court to assist a company which is facing insolvency but still potentially viable, by examining its affairs and drawing up proposals to facilitate its survival (often by restructuring). Cf. examinership n. 2.
ΚΠ
1990 Irish Times 25 Aug. 1/7 The new measure..will enable the courts to appoint an examiner, who could freeze a company's assets for up to 12 months.
2001 Daily Deal (N.Y.) (Nexis) 17 Oct. (M & A section) The advantage for Aer Lingus..is that while an examiner is drawing a proposal for the company's survival..creditors can't appoint receivers, instigate a liquidation or enforce their security.
2010 I. L. Fannen & K. Cuddihy Corporations & Partnerships Ireland i. i. 127 Following the appointment of an examiner, the company is under the protection of the court from its creditors for seventy days.
2013 M. Samad Court Applic. under Companies Acts xii. 493 The costs of an application for the appointment of an examiner are normally borne by the petitioner, which is normally the company itself.
2. A person who conducts, sets, or marks examinations to test knowledge, skill, or competence; (chiefly) spec. (a) a person who examines candidates for holy orders or membership of a religious body; (b) a person who conducts oral or practical examinations of pupils or students; (c) a member of an examination board, responsible for setting and marking examinations.to satisfy the examiners: see satisfy v. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > examiner
examinator1484
examinerc1485
positor1494
examinant1587
poser1587
marker1884
flunker1910
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) iv. 29 Ffor worthy examynouris will admytt nane—bot worthy.
1524 in Vicary's Anat. Bodie of Man (1888) App. iii. 156 At this Courte, camme Doctour Bentley & doctour Yakesley,..examyners Admytted to hable or disable suche as practise phisik & Surgery in London.
1581 J. Nicholls Pilgrimage sig. L8v When he came to be examined of the Bishops Chaplaine, touchinge doctrine, he put his hand in his pocket, and said to his examiner, Ecce hic: and gaue hym a handfull of money.
a1654 A. Ross Πανσεβεια (1655) xi. 331 The examiner also of those that desire admission, hath his rules.
1715 H. Prideaux Articles Reform. Univ. liii, in Life H. Prideaux (1748) 235 Such only, as shall obtain a certificate of approbation from the two Examiners who examined them, shall be qualified for the said Degree.
1763 J. Woodforde Diary 23 May (1924) I. 25 I was examined for deacon's orders... Mr. Hewish is a very fair Examiner.
1813 A. Bruce Crit. Acct. Life A. Morus ii. 21 All examiners of proposants for the ministry, should proceed in that business with very much charity.
1847 Provinc. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 8 Sept. 498/2 That all passages and questions proposed for the examination of the candidates be submitted to the whole board of examiners.
1861 Times 29 Aug. To defeat cramming is the most useful..art of the Examiner.
1901 Westm. Gaz. 23 Aug. 8/2 The examiner at once ordered his expulsion from the hall.
1961 J. P. Tuck in Gen. Cert. Educ. 8 Scripts which had already been marked we re-allotted to other examiners.
1983 T. C. Oden Pastoral Theol. ii. 23 Suppose an intelligent candidate comes before the examiners with..minimal interest in practical pastoral duties?
1998 Strad July 696/1 Examiners from London visit once a year so that the Escola students..can sit any of the Guildhall's graded exams.
2013 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) May 84/2 Many people go to pieces in an exam hall, or when they have to sit in front of an examiner.
3.
a. A person who closely investigates, inspects, or analyses something. Also: †a person who judges or appraises something (obsolete). Chiefly with of.
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1539 R. Taverner Garden of Wysdom sig. E.vi When he harde that he was dead, he syghed, sayeng: What a loker and examiner of my life haue I now lost?
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iii. iv. f. 202 Sinne is a spirituall leprosie, therfore let vs be also examiners [L. cognitores] of sinn.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Discuteur, a discusser, examiner, debater.
1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat v. ii. sig. K4v Be but a just examiner of thy selfe.
1767 tr. C. di Beccaria Bonesana Ess. Crimes Introd. 2 A cool examiner of human nature.
1799 V. Knox Considerations Lord's Supper xviii. 155 The rigid examiners of Christ's pretensions..seldom take into consideration..the love of God.
1819 J. Storer Hist. & Antiq. Cathedral Churches of Great Brit. IV. Exeter: p. (p) An enumeration of the principal of these [smaller chapels] may be useful to the examiner of the cathedral.
1855 Assoc. Med. Jrnl. 3 258/2 These [pages] cannot fail to exercise great influence on the mind of every candid examiner of the truth.
1918 Daughters Amer. Revol. Mag. June 343/1 A casual examiner would not find its appearance different from an ordinary map.
1949 Prairie Schooner 23 171 The examiner of the protective myths of the human soul, William McFee.
1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 322 Adventurous voyager-in-reverse, relentless examiner of his own life and the lives of others.
b. Used in the titles of newspapers and periodicals.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > titles of newspapers
observator1642
mercury1643
post1645
examiner1710
echo1729
times1788
mail1789
messenger1796
thunderer1830
anti-Jacobin1867
Trib1878
Nikkei1982
1710 (title) The Examiner.
1797 (title) The Anti-Jacobin; or, Weekly examiner.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Lett. (1959) IV. 718 You may have seen the long-winded..article in the Examiner of last Sunday.
1824 (title) The Christian Examiner and Theological Review.
1853 C. Dickens Let. 27 July (1993) VII. 121 I shall want his book of Hop o'my thumb (Forster noticed it in the last Examiner).
1941 Jrnl. Illinois State Hist. Soc. 34 325 He decided that his observation of Illinois pioneer life would interest the readers of the Manchester Examiner and Times.
1991 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 24 Nov. 27/2 It..was also being serialized in the abolitionist newspaper The Anti-Slavery Examiner.
2002 Vanity Fair Feb. 63/3 She'd spent much of the 70s writing for the San Francisco Examiner.
4.
a. A person employed or appointed to inspect or investigate something, esp. to check for irregularities; an official inspector or investigator. Chiefly with of or modifying word.In quots. ?1608 and 1625: spec. an inspector appointed to discover, and restrict access to, houses inhabited by plague victims.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > [noun] > person conducting
searchera1382
inseerc1438
intracer?a1475
inquisitor?1504
investigator1538
peruser1549
tracer1552
scrutineer1557
examinant1587
revisitor1594
examiner?1608
examinator1612
researcher1615
indagator1620
ferret1629
pryer1674
probator1691
disquisitor1766
grubber1776
prober1777
grubbler1813
detective1850
expiscator1882
?1608 Orders Ld. Mayor & Aldermen London That these Examiners be sworne by the Alderman,..to enquire and learne from time to time what houses in euery Parish be visited, and what persons be sicke, and of what diseases.
1625 Orders Infected Houses in Orders Ld. Mayor & Aldermen Citie of London The Master of euery house, as soone as any one in his house complayneth, eyther of botch, of purple, or swelling in any part of his body,..shall giue knowledge thereof to the Examiner of health.
1707 J. Chamberlayne List Govt. Officers in Angliæ Notitia (ed. 22) 498 Four Examiners of the Out-Port Books.
1761 Ann. Reg. 1760 170/1 The third overseer is called the Keurmeester, Or examiner of the fish, whether it is fresh and fit for sale.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Ship-surveyor, an examiner of the condition, fittings, and sea-worthiness of ships.
1882 Cent. Mag. Mar. 769/2 The bank-examiner came along and found very grave irregularities and delinquencies.
1918 Amer. Machinist 5 Sept. 420/1 Payment for piecework is made only on the certificate of an examiner or a viewer belonging to the inspection department.
1977 New Scientist 5 May 262/2 The Department of Transport's goods vehicle examiners..run routine MoT checks on lorries.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 23 Sept. e9/3 Document examiners have several counterweapons that can help detect sophisticated digital cut-and-paste forgeries.
b. In full Examiner of (India) Correspondence. In the East India Company: (the title of) an official, based at the India House in London, responsible for dealing with correspondence from agents in India. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1777 in G. Rous Restoration King of Tanjore Considered App. p. v It was Ordered, That the Examiner of Indian Correspondence attend as Clerk to this Committee.
1779 Royal Kalendar 212 Examiner of India Correspondence, S. Wilks.
1836 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 212 The duties of his [sc. J. Mill's] important office, that of Chief Examiner to the East India Company.
1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 309 The duty of the so-called examiners was to examine the letters of the agents of the Company in India, and to draft instructions in reply.
1952 P. Sraffa in D. Ricardo Wks. & Corr. VI. p. xvi He secured an appointment with the East India Company as assistant examiner of correspondence.
2013 G. Varouxakis Liberty Abroad v. 116 James Mill..became Examiner of Correspondence until his death in 1836.
5. A doctor or other health care professional who carries out a medical examination. Cf. medical examiner n. at medical adj. and n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > examiner
examiner1672
medical examiner1820
screener1977
1672 tr. P. Barbette Chirurg. & Anat. Wks. iv. i. 312 The more curious Examiner meets withal, first, five Vertebra's of the Loins.
1786 H. Lemoine Kentish Curate IV. xvii. 215 The Doctor proved a very superficial examiner.
1807 R. Southey Lett. from Eng. II. li. 381 Undiseased parts will not convey any remarkable impression to the examiner.
1876 Med. Examiner 20 July 529/1 The examiner should be especially careful to avoid an uncomfortable posture; it is better to kneel by the side of a low bed than to stoop unduly over it.
1924 Amer. Jrnl. Med. Sci. May 664 Not infrequently the examiner notes that ‘the heart action is regular’.
1969 I. Stevenson Psychiatric Exam. iv. 62 Insecurity accompanied by a need to impress the examiner..may also lead the patient to bring forth unnecessary details.
2004 Jrnl. Manipulative & Physiol. Therapeutics 27 181/2 The shoulder was then abduced by the examiner to the first onset of pain.
6. In the British Parliament, and some other bicameral legislatures: (the title of) an officer appointed by either house to examine a private bill awaiting its second reading, to check its compliance with the rules that regulate private bill procedure; cf. examination n. 6b.
ΚΠ
1846 Rep. Select Comm. Standing Orders Revision 9 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 662) XII. 241 Mr. Speaker shall appoint one or more Officers to be called ‘The Examiners of Petitions for Private Bills.’
1859 S. B. Bristowe Private Bill Legislation ii. 72 The examiners are to begin on January 18 to examine all petitions for private bills which have been duly deposited at the office of the Clerk of the Parliaments.
1885 Westm. Rev. Apr. 504 The Examiner of Private Bills reported non-compliance with Standing Orders.
1924 Irish Times 27 Mar. 4/2 No complaint as to non-compliance was advanced by any party, and the Examiner accepted the proofs.
1939 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 28 Mar. 7/3 Her husband, Sir Ralph Verney, is Examiner of Private Bills and Taxing Master at the House of Commons.
1952 Narracoorte (S. Austral.) Herald 2 Oct. 6/2 Said Bill will be deposited in the office of the Examiner of Private Bills at Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide, on the 20th day of October 1952.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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