proben.
/prəʊb/, U.S. /proʊb/ I. The action of examining or probing.† 1. An examination, or test. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
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
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 146 Þe probe [?c1425 Paris profe; L. proba] made of þe entralez..be þer put of þe puluer of arsenec.
2.
a. An act of probing; also (chiefly Scottish) a prod, a jab.rare before 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > [noun] > by boring, piercing, or perforating > with sharp-pointed instrument > an act of
stick1637
probe1827
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > striking with pushing action > poking or prodding > a poke or prod
pounce1755
prod1805
probe1827
poke1831
purr1844
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 160 The Fisher-Knicht, wi' halbert's prob, Their hobblin' hender-ends did job.
1890 Athenæum 10 May 613/3 As the Agora was gradually working itself out we tried probes to the west in the adjoining fields.
1894 Outing 24 108/2 The fish felt a probe in the ribs.
1907 Daily News 11 Nov. 6/1 A probe with a pin is needed to unfold it.
1978 Icarus 33 441/1 A radar probe of the Martian surface.
1991 Fly Rod & Reel Apr. 39 /2 When the water is too roily to see the bottom and the next step could land me in a hole or astride a boulder,..a few probes with this trusty bit of lumber will chart a safe path.
b. figurative. A penetrating investigation or inquiry.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > [noun] > instance of
perscrutation?a1425
perquisition1611
dissection1642
perreptation1656
critique1798
probe1903
check-up1921
close-up1923
1903 Christendom 9 May 151/1 Few words are commoner in newspaper headlines than ‘probe’, which is newspaper English for an investigation of alleged abuses.
1930 Amer. Speech 6 119 Probe started in junk yard blaze.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 500/2 Many questions are followed by extra probes, in order to elicit further material about symptoms which the examiner suspects are present.
1980 R. McCrum In Secret State iv. 26 Would Hayter start an internal probe into the background to the Lister business?
2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 9 Aug. (Central ed.) b5/2 Other probes include one focused on abuse of federal Medicare rules.
II. An instrument for probing or something resembling it in shape or action.
3. Surgery. Any of numerous instruments used for exploring wounds, sinus tracts, ducts, and hollow organs, usually consisting of a slender rod with a blunt or bulbous end.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > probe or sound
tenta1400
probe?a1425
search?a1425
sequere mea1425
searcher?c1425
searching iron1477
prove?1541
privet1598
proof1611
style1631
seeker1658
searching instrument1663
stylet1697
stiletto1699
breast-probe1739
sound1797
sounder1875
tracer1882
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 1 (MED) Instrumentz of yren Som bene..for to proue, as probes [L. probe] & intromisse, i. serchers.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Vne petite Esprouvette, a small instrument wherewith Surgeons do search wounds, a probe.
1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate 12 Some vse the longer sort of Probes with eies like needles.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem v. 64 Do, do, Daughter—while I get the Lint and the Probe and the Plaister ready.
1807 S. Cooper First Lines Pract. Surg. I. ii. iv. 414 Many punctured wounds are very long and narrow, so as not easily to admit a probe to their termination.
1874 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Mental Physiol. (1879) i. ii. 68 If the vent of a Frog be irritated with a probe, the hind-legs will endeavour to push it away.
1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) v. 52 If the bone is bare but alive, the impression is that there is a film of soft material (granulations) between the probe and the bone.
1980 Lancet 19 Jan. 124/2 With electrocoagulation the depth of injury cannot be adequately controlled and the coagulum may be dislodged on withdrawal of the probe.
4. † a. Angling. A needle used to pass a wire through or under the skin of a small fish so that it may be used as bait for a larger one, esp. a pike; a baiting-needle. Obsolete.† b. The proboscis of an insect. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > bait > baiting needle
probe1662
baiting-needle1875
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler vii. 150 The better to avoid hurting the fish, some have a kind of probe to open the way, for the more easie entrance and passage of your wyer or arming. View more context for this quotation]
1662 R. Venables Experienc'd Angler iv. 45 With a probe or needle you must draw the wire in at the fishes mouth and out at the tail.
1681 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum xxxvii. 161 Others use the Probe to draw the arming wire under the skin only.
1740 J. Williamson Brit. Angler iv. 175 Make a Hole with the Point of your Hook or Probe, in the Fish's Side with which you bait.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > head > mouth-parts or trophi > proboscis
nib1585
beak1658
promuscis1658
proboscisa1660
trunk1661
probe1664
trump1752
antlia1826
siphuncle1826
spiritrompe1831
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 2 At his [sc. the flea's] snout is fixed a Proboscis, or hollow trunk or probe.
1736 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Spiders 70 It has a small proboscis, or probe.., that seems to consist of a tube.., and a tongue or sucker.
c.
(a) Aeronautics. A tube attached to the nose or wing of an aircraft which is fitted into a drogue towed by a tanker aircraft in order to take fuel from it in aerial refuelling.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > probe for refuelling
probe1949
1949 Flight 11 Aug. 178/2 Either the tanker or the aircraft to be refuelled..could be fitted with the ‘probe’.
1978 Aeroplane Monthly Jan. 35/1 This sub-variant incorporated the necessary ‘plumbing’ to permit in-flight refuelling, achieved with the aid of a probe of gigantic proportions.
1990 D. J. Calvert Harrier (‘Aircraft Illustr.’ Special) 58/3 The AV-8B has a neat retractable refuelling probe.
(b) Astronautics. A projecting device on a spacecraft designed to engage with the drogue of another craft during docking.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > parts of spacecraft > [noun] > docking device
probe1969
1969 Times 23 May 1/3 Ground control told the astronauts that it suspected that the ring, which serves as a mount for the docking probe, had slipped by about three degrees.
1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon iv. 80 The command module had at its top a ‘probe’, a triangularly shaped assembly with a pencil-like point.
1970 R. Turnill Lang. of Space 34 Three tiny capture latches on the nose of the probe provide the first steadying link, and then the command module crewman fires a gas bottle which thrusts the two together so that 12 docking latches snap shut.
2000 D. Shayler Disasters & Accidents Manned Spaceflight 229 He gently guided the probe on the nose of his spacecraft into the drogue on the top of the LM.
5. figurative. A thing that penetrates as if to explore or investigate; a thing used to obtain information about something or someone.
ΚΠ
1675 N. Payne Siege Constantinople iv. 66 Your Probe's not long enough to rent my Soul.
1779 H. Cowley Albina ii. 24 The probe of truth Doth touch you, Lady—you must bear it still.
1816 A. C. Knight Year in Canada 109 The grief whose vainly smother'd sigh Disdain'd the murmur of complaint, And shunn'd the probe of sympathy.
1851 Times 26 Apr. 4/3 He means to tell all who work at the plough or the loom, that they are wrung and agonized..under the..probe of free trade.
1876 J. R. Lowell Ode 4th July iv. iii We, who believe Life's bases rest Beyond the probe of chemic test.
1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men 18 The Negro, in spite of his open-faced laughter, is particularly evasive... We let the probe enter, but it never comes out.
1962 A. Huxley Island xi. 177 Slanting down through chinks in the green vaulting overhead, the long probes of sunlight picked out here a row of black and yellow water jars, there a silver bracelet.
1994 Times (Nexis) 19 Feb. Prince Tandi is a dull stick, quite unsuitable to act as a probe for exploring the quaint customs of Saxony.
6. Science
a. An electrode or other small device which can penetrate or be placed in or on something to obtain and relay information or measurements relating to it, or to excite radiation in it.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > [noun] > for measurement or control
conformator1874
control equipment1899
probe1924
instrumentation1932
monitor1948
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > connection, contact > [noun] > electrode > for measurement, etc.
probe1924
1924 Physical Rev. 24 597 Potential distribution and ion concentration were investigated by Langmuir's modified probe method.
1938 Proc. IRE 26 1534 The electric field intensity was measured by a small probe with a crystal detector, followed by an audio-frequency amplifier.
1972 Physics Bull. Jan. 23/3 The pulse echo apparatus..comprises a heavily damped piezoelectric transducer source, often called a probe, which is placed on the surface of the sample under test.
1990 Which? Apr. 227/1 You put the probe into the food, and programme the oven to the final temperature you want.
2004 S. Hemingway Horse & Jockey from Artemision 61 The video probe measured 0.008 m in diameter and had a camera at its tip that could be pointed by remote control.
b. Nuclear Physics. A subatomic particle which can be used to penetrate nuclei, atoms, etc., and provide information about their internal structure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > [noun] > particle used to investigate
probe1929
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > [noun] > atomic structure > particle used to analyse structure
probe1929
1929 Sci. Monthly Jan. 41/2 What we were attempting..were atomic explorations similar to those of Sir Ernest Rutherford and his collaborators, but explorations in which the probe should be an electron rather than an alpha particle.
1953 Physical Rev. 92 801/2 The use of the μ− meson as a nuclear probe is possible because the mesonic orbits are much closer to the nucleus than the corresponding electron orbits.
1974 I. E. McCarthy Nuclear Reactions i. i. 6 The invention of accelerating machines promised new probes, for example protons, deuterons, and even heavier ions.
2005 Physical Rev. D. 72 094013-1 We study..angular momentum in the two-particle spectrum produced by an energetic probe scattering off a dense hadronic target.
c. Astronautics. A small, usually unmanned, exploratory spacecraft for transmitting information about its environment; = space probe n. at space n.1 Compounds 4. Also: a rocket or an instrument capsule for obtaining measurements in the upper atmosphere.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > [noun] > laboratories and observatories
space probe1949
space observatory1952
probe1953
space laboratory1954
space lab1955
moon probe1958
fly-by1960
Skylab1969
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > rocket > [noun] > for taking scientific measurements
rocketsonde1946
sounding rocket1947
probe1953
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > study or science of weather > meteorological instruments > [noun] > carrier for or with instruments > others
weather ship1946
probe1953
weather satellite1960
weather plane1962
1953 Jrnl. Brit. Interplanetary Soc. 12 73 The probe will arrive at Mars nine months after opposition.
1958 Observer 17 Aug. 1/6 From then on the probe will be on its own for about 59 hours, coasting through space, gradually slowing down under the pull of the earth's gravity.
1959 F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Dict. 132/1 Probe,..3. An instrumented research rocket, or its payload, for penetrating the upper atmosphere or beyond.
1968 Times 15 Nov. 8/5 The Russian probe was not able to measure the lower 25 kilometres of the Venusian atmosphere.
1996 Sunday Tel. 4 Feb. 16/7 The Americans launched many probes to explore the further reaches of the galaxy.
2004 New Scientist 23 Oct. 45/3 In December Cassini will launch Huygens, a wok-shaped probe that is set to enter Titan's atmosphere on 15 January.
d. Molecular Biology. Originally: a substance used to investigate the structure or synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins. Now usually: spec. an oligonucleotide or protein that is labelled (typically with a radioisotope or a fluorescent marker) and is used to detect a specific nucleotide sequence or protein of interest. Cf. probe v. 5.
ΚΠ
1961 Biophysica et Biochemica Acta 49 90 If some sort of normal RNA metabolism is required for phage protein synthesis to proceed, FU [= fluorouracil] could be a useful probe for examining the nature of this requirement in more detail.
1968 Biophysica et Biochemica Acta 157 115 They attempted to further characterize micrococcal nuclease as a probe of DNA conformation.
1978 Nature 19 Oct. 667/2 We used a radioisotopically labelled complementary DNA probe..generated from an in vitro reverse transcriptase reaction.
1989 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell (ed. 2) v. 262 (heading) Hybridization with a radioactive DNA probe can be used to identify the clones of interest in a DNA library.
2006 W. Sherwin & J. A. M. Graves in P. J. Armati et al. Marsupials ii. 44 Any old piece of spacer, intron or pseudogene sequence can be located if a probe detects variation between different versions of the same DNA sequence in the two parent species.
e. gen. A phenomenon or substance used as a means of scientific investigation.
ΚΠ
1972 Science 16 June 1226/1 Fluorescein-tagged HBAb is used as a probe for the presence and location of HBAg in hepatocytes.
1984 Y. Hamakawa in J. Pankove Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon B. v. 157 Interface barrier modulation in Schottky-type junctions,..heterojunctions, etc., might also be a very good probe for finding the built-in potential and its distribution in various devices.
1994 Observatory 114 188 The rôle of oscillations as a probe of stellar interiors recurs to the end of the proceedings.
2002 C. E. Bunker et al. in Ya-Ping Sun Supercritical Fluid Technol. i. 11 The use of pyrene as a molecular probe to investigate solute–solvent interactions in..supercritical fluids.
III. A printer's proof.† 7. A printer's proof. Obsolete. rare. Cf. proof n. 15b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > [noun] > proof
probe1563
proof1602
proof-sheet1688
proof slip1829
pull1845
flat pull1888
flat impression1890
1563 E. Grindal Remains (1843) (modernized text) 268 The thanksgiving for the queen's majesty's preservation..ye shall see in the probe of the print, and after judge.
Compounds
C1.
probe end n.
ΚΠ
1743 tr. L. Heister Gen. Syst. Surg. I. i. v. 58 Where the Intestines are so inflated, that it is impossible to get the probe end of the Knife [L. scalpellum], or a Conductor into the Abdomen, then [etc.].
1863 T. B. Curling Observ. Dis. Rectum (ed. 3) ix. 101 Using the probe end of the director as a guide, the surgeon may make an external artificial opening.
1993 Computerworld (Nexis) 19 Apr. 49 The surgeon can call up interior 3-D images of the patient's brain by touching the probe end of the operating arm to certain places on the patient's head.
probe point n.
ΚΠ
1756 P. Pott Treat. Ruptures 161 Keeping the probe-point of the knife against the end of the fore-finger.
1855 W. T. Helmuth Surg. & its Adaptation into Homoeopathic Pract. xxiv. 430 It may be well..to substitute an instrument with a probe point, wherewith to effect the muscle's section.
2003 Semiconductor Sci. & Technol. 18 S134/2 When the same experiment was repeated on the tungsten carbide block, the current again dropped to zero..as soon as the probe point cleared the surface.
C2. † probe-scissors n. Obsolete scissors whose blades have blunt or bulbous ends.
probe-and-drogue adj. (attributive) (a) Aeronautics designating or relating to a method of aerial refuelling (see sense 4c(a)); (b) Astronautics designating or relating to a method of docking spacecraft (see sense 4c(b)).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [adjective] > method of docking
probe-and-drogue1951
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [adjective] > method of refuelling in flight
probe-and-drogue1951
1951 Engineering 27 Apr. 491/1 In the probe-and-drogue system, the tanker trails a hose..to the end of which is attached a conical metal drogue..with the open end facing rearward.
1970 R. Turnill Lang. of Space 34 Docking tunnel... So called because it contains the interlocking probe and drogue system for linking up the two craft in space.
1987 Internat. Combat Arms Sept. 90/1 To receive fuel in flight with the help of the probe-and-drogue system, an aircraft must be equipped for pressure fueling.
probe microphone n. a very small microphone which operates without significantly disturbing the sound waves as they pass, used esp. in making precise measurements of sound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > instrument measuring number or pressure
phonometer1823
pistonphone1922
probe microphone1945
probe mike1976
1945 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 183 303 With the probe-microphone..explorations of pressure were made along and across the tube.
1991 H. Rheingold Virtual Reality iii. vi. 151 They sat real people in an anechoic chamber..and measured the effects of hearing precisely modulated signals from every direction, by means of tiny probe microphones placed near the eardrums of the listener.
probe mike n. colloquial = probe microphone n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > instrument measuring number or pressure
phonometer1823
pistonphone1922
probe microphone1945
probe mike1976
1976 K. Benton Single Monstrous Act iii. 37 ‘What is it?.. A probe mike?’ ‘That's it... It's shaped like a spike.’
1979 ‘J. le Carré’ Smiley's People (1980) xxi. 257 They'd like to run a couple of probe mikes into the ground floor.
probe needle n. a needle used as a probe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > needles
stitching quill1674
probe needle1676
needle1728
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. iii. v. 231 I prepared a Ligature, and with a Probe-needle passed it up into the Gut.
1985 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 25 June c1/4 He inserted the probe into the bushing and gently pushed it along the guided pathway, penetrating the woman's brain. When the collar reached the bushing, the tip of the probe needle should have been at the target.
2005 Sensors & Actuators B 107 560/2 It is difficult to contact a probe needle..onto a tilted chip.
probe-pointed adj. having a blunt or bulbous end like that of a surgical probe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > bluntness > [adjective] > having blunt end
pointlessc1330
unpointed1608
round-nosed1678
probe-pointed1748
round-nose1851
snoutless1862
blunt-pointed1881
butt-ended1892
blunt-topped1908
1748 tr. G. Arnaud Diss. Hernias 360 I dilated the orifice of the sac with the probe-pointed bistory [Fr. Bistouri boutonné] of my invention.
1869 G. Lawson Dis. Eye (1874) 59 Into this opening I insert a pair of small probe-pointed scissors.
1963 Lancet 24 Aug. 377 Underlying structures are protected with the broad end of the probe-pointed director.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > scissors
probe-scissors1676
bone forceps1752
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. vi. iv. 418 The sinus..may be..snipt open by a pair of Probe-scissors.
1783 P. Pott Chirurg. Wks. (new ed.) II. 155 The probe-scissors..is in this case particularly hazardous and improper.
1846 A. Spiers Gen. Eng. & French Dict. 461/1 Probe-scissors, ciseaux boutonnés.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
probev.
/prəʊb/, U.S. /proʊb/ 1.
a. transitive. To pierce, penetrate, or examine with a probe, esp. something sharp, in order to test or explore; (also) to search (a person's body) closely for something concealed.
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
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed
shearOE
sting993
stickOE
spita1225
wound?c1225
stitchc1230
pitcha1275
threstc1275
forprick1297
steekc1300
piercec1325
rivec1330
dag?a1400
jag?a1400
lancec1400
pickc1400
tamec1400
forpierce1413
punch1440
launch1460
thringc1485
empiercec1487
to-pierce1488
joba1500
ding1529
stob?1530
probe1542
enthrill1563
inthirlc1580
cloy1590
burt1597
pink1597
lancinate1603
perterebrate1623
puncture1675
spike1687
skiver1832
bepierce1840
gimlet1841
prong1848
javelin1859
1542 Confescon R. Meyrick in Hereford Munic. MSS (transcript) (O.E.D. Archive) I. ii. 72 He p(ro)byd the locke wt the seid keyse that he borowed & he cowde not on loke the seid cob(er)te.
1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. xiii. 23 There was not a hole big enough to contain a man, but what my Spanish Leather Blade prob'd.
1696 G. G. Lansdowne She-gallants v. i. 63 How often alas! have I lain Sweating in a Chest, for fear of a jealous Husband, that came Home before he was expected: Or stood shrinking behind the Hanging which he has prob'd with his Naked Sword.
1701 Philos. Trans. 1700–1 (Royal Soc.) 22 808 The hole..which seem'd to me (as I probed it with a knitting needle) to be twice as wide as the entrance.
1789 G. White Nat. Hist. Selborne 15 Which the owners assured me they procured..by probing the soil with spits.
1841 R. W. Emerson Method of Nature 7 As soon as he probes one crust, behold gimlet, plumb-line, and philosopher, all take a lateral direction.
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man ii. 31 The bog or peat was ascertained, on probing it with an instrument, to be at least fifteen feet thick.
c1886 R. Kipling Opium Factory 93 After vatting,..the big vats..are probed with test rods.
1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 17 Sept. 660 I counted thirty-eight [tsetse flies] probing the body of a large monitor I had shot.
1957 A. C. Clarke Deep Range ii. xiv. 121 All objects were lost in the haze at a distance of about a hundred and fifty feet; the full power of the ultra-violet projectors could probe the water no farther than this.
1984 B. MacLaverty Cal (new ed.) 93 They spread-eagled him against the wall and hands probed his body from top to bottom.
2005 New Yorker 14 Feb. 153/1 Biologists probed his teeth for traces of disease.
b. transitive. To poke (something pointed or protruding) into an object or place, esp. in order to explore or examine it. Also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1889 F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback 109 One of the soldiers probed his bayonet between the logs under which he was lying, and just pricked him.
1946 Geogr. Jrnl. 108 55 Sir Arnold Wilson probed a finger of survey northwards from Dizful.
1953 Burlington (N. Carolina) Times-News 6 Mar. 1/2 The surgeon was able to probe his fingers through the well's bottom opening and into the heart chamber.
1970 Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times 24 June 53/4 He probed his fork into a snail shell.
1984 B. Heinrich In Patch of Fireweed xv. 187 They landed here and there on the logs, probing their slender whiplike ovipositors into the holes of the pile from which the beetle larvae were shedding their sawdust frass.
2. intransitive. To explore with or as with a probe; to penetrate into something; to look closely, search for; to seek to uncover information.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > search as with a probe
probe1616
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > become or make perforated [verb (intransitive)] > make (a) hole(s) > with something sharp
jag?a1400
pink1530
probe1835–6
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > examine closely [verb (intransitive)]
ransackc1405
sift1535
to bolt all the flour1590
scrutine1592
profound1643
scrutinize1699
probe1878
1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) iii. xlvii. 406 There breedeth likewise a little worme.., which eateth trees in such sort, as that it causeth them die. These you must kill with an yron wyre, probing for them [Fr. les recherchant] on euerie side of the tree.
1688 J. Crowne Darius iii. 42 Hold! he is Innocent, and she may be. Shall I skin o're my Wound, with that may be? And probe no farther?
1727 in L. Welsted Dissembled Wanton Prol. How nice the Task, at once to probe and please!
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 311/2 Which [birds] have occasion to probe for their food in muddy or sandy soils.
1878 ‘G. Eliot’ College Breakfast Party in Macmillan's Mag. July 165 Your question..has probed right through To the pith of our belief.
1887 ‘M. Corelli’ Thelma II. iv. 66 Lady Winsleigh..had..the cleverness to probe into Thelma's nature and find out how translucently clear and pure it was.
1923 E. V. Smith in B. C. Williams O. Henry Prize Stories of 1923 (1924) 1 The hogs probed for succulent roots in the rank undergrowth of a nearby swamp.
1959 Listener 14 May 827/1 If an aggressor were to try a probing action it's just as likely that he would probe on the sea, or even under the sea, as on land or in the air.
1988 R. Basu Hours before Dawn x. 91 When Kabita probed, he explained what had brought his temper to boiling point.
3.
a. transitive. To examine or look into closely; to investigate (a crime or other matter) thoroughly; to interrogate (a person). Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > investigate, examine [verb (transitive)]
underseekc897
speerc900
lookeOE
askOE
seeOE
teem witnessc1200
seeka1300
fand13..
inquirec1300
undergoc1315
visit1338
pursuea1382
searcha1382
examinec1384
assay1387
ensearchc1400
vesteyea1425
to have in waitc1440
perpend1447
to bring witnessc1475
vey1512
investigate?1520
recounta1530
to call into (also in) question1534
finger1546
rip1549
sight1556
vestigatea1561
to look into ——1561
require1563
descry?1567
sound1579
question1590
resolve1593
surview1601
undersearch1609
sift1611
disquire1621
indagate1623
inspect1623
pierce1640
shrive1647
in-looka1649
probe1649
incern1656
quaeritate1657
inquisite1674
reconnoitre1740
explore1774
to bring to book1786
look-see1867
scrutate1882
to shake down1915
sleuth1939
screen1942
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]
seekc900
seeOE
searcha1382
takea1382
inquire1390
undergrope?a1412
explore1531
to pry out1548
to scan out1548
to hunt out1576
sound1596
exquire1607
pervestigate1610
pump1611
trace1642
probe1649
to hunt up1741
to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770
verify1801
to get a load of1929
sus1966
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > interrogation > question, interrogate [verb (transitive)] > question intensively
apposec1315
opposec1380
demand1526
grate?1538
pump1611
sweat1764
probe1804
draw1854
grill1894
third-degree1928
to put through the wringer1942
1649 R. Lovelace Lucasta: Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs 28 She proabed it [sc. my heart] with her constancie, And found no Rancor nigh it.
1656 in R. Fletcher Poems in Ex Otio Negotium 234 There's none can probe ye grief, or state ye case.
1686 F. Fane Sacrifice iii. i. 36 Crafty Traytor! He dares not say he loves her; but 'tis plain. I'll probe him deeper.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. i. v. 17 Stand firm, while I probe your prejudices.
1776 G. E. Ayscough Semiramis v. ii. 65 Deep-searching love has probed his dark designs.
1804 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) II. 667 I was anxious to find out to what countries they had claims, and probed them particularly upon that point.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. viii. 166 A rascally calumny, which I was determined to probe to the bottom.
1884 N.Y. Weekly Tribune 12 Mar. 1/2 The Senate Committee did not probe the Public Works Department in vain.
1915 C. Mackenzie Guy & Pauline 228 If he could only probe by some remark a generous impulse.
1953 Manch. Guardian Weekly 5 Mar. 3/1 The press exhaustively probed the unpublished agenda and was then kept..firmly out of earshot.
2000 Washington Post 28 Jan. c8/1 Behavioral experts..have been probed for reaction.
b. transitive. To find out or obtain information on by close examination or investigation.rare before 20th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > find out, discover [verb (transitive)] > as by sifting, teasing, etc.
tozec1450
to pick out1523
to bolt out1545
sift1592
pumpa1637
incern1656
probe1699
mole1856
to winkle out1942
1699 H. Wanley in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Lit. Men (1843) (Camden) 284 But I made shift to probe out a few of them myself.
1901 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 9 507 This method leaves the student essentially ignorant of actual economic facts and forces and untrained in the ability to probe out these facts and forces.
1948 Utah Beach to Cherbourg (U.S. G.P.O.) 38 Company G..had probed out the weakest portion of the enemy line but had not followed up the advantage.
1998 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 2 Mar. d1 It is one of the most sophisticated networks, able to probe out billions of miles.
c. transitive. With direct speech as object: to ask or inquire penetratingly.
ΚΠ
1839 Lady Lytton Cheveley (ed. 2) II. x. 334 ‘Anything about Denham in it?’ probed Herbert.
1908 Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times 12 Dec. 10/3 ‘All the people?’ he probed, ‘Or some one in particular?’
1942 Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) 20 Nov. 11/3 ‘Is there another woman?’ she probed.
2001 F. North Fen xxxv. 256 ‘Do you worry that you're James's totty?’ Pip probed. ‘That it's every fifty-year-old's fantasy to have a nice nubile bit of skirt?’
4. transitive. To examine or explore (esp. a wound, body cavity, etc.) with a probe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > examination > examine medically [verb (transitive)] > by touch > probe
seeka1300
search?a1425
sound1598
tent1598
probe1656
1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 77 What shrinking and drawing back, when the wound commeth to be searcht? And yet searcht it must be, and probed to the bottome; or there will be no perfect recovery.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther iii. 78 Yet durst she not too deeply probe the wound, As hoping still the nobler parts were sound.
1739 J. Sparrow tr. H. F. Le Dran Observ. Surg. lxxx. 279 I probed him carefully, and found no Stone.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth x, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 297 The leech,..when the body was found, was commanded by the magistrates to probe the wound with his instruments.
1973 B. W. Aldiss Frankenstein Unbound xi. 99 My wound was probed and bandaged, and then the fool of a medico bled me.
1986 P. Mora Borders 61 Though an amateur (no doctors in this desert), I probe their wounds, squeeze out the yellow pus, squeeze hard even when they scream.
5. transitive. Chiefly Molecular Biology. To subject to the action of a probe (probe n. 6d); to investigate (a nucleic acid) for structural or functional properties.
ΚΠ
1962 AIBS Bull. Aug. 1 (advt.) Other topics included are the probing of the DNA molecule.]
1965 Science 3 Sept. 1113/1 The actions of these and other therapeutic agents upon DNA may offer an opportunity to probe the DNA molecule for specific structural features that are essential for the replication of DNA or for the transcription of RNA.
1976 Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 41 458 When untransformed cells were probed with lectins, they were agglutinable by concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin at mitosis, but not at interphase.
1989 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 6 May 1215/1 DNA was extracted from..lymphocytes and after restriction enzyme digestion was analysed on Southern blots probed with labelled restriction fragments.
1997 New Scientist 1 Nov. 64/1 Probing a sample of DNA using genetic analysis techniques allows you to test the genetic health of any species you fancy.
2008 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 Jan. d3/2 The KIF6 gene..hasn't..shown up in several other genome scans probing DNA for heart-disease genes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.?a1425
v.1542- handwringer
- handwringers
- handwringing
- handwringings
- handwrit
- handwrite
- handwrites
- handwriting
- handwriting analysis
- handwriting expert
- handwriting on the wall
- handwriting recognition
- handwritings
- handwritten
- handwrote
- handwrought
- handy
- handy billy
- handy blow
- handy by
- handy dandy
- handy dog
- handy fight
- handy frame
- handy hint