English
examine
Examine comes from Old French examiner ‘to consider’, and goes back to Latin agō ‘to drive’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāmen‘a consideration, an examining’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexaminoas exāmināre‘to weigh or consider’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400examiner‘to consider’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500examinen
- Englishearliest quotation 1979examine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāmen‘a consideration, an examining’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexaminoas exāmināre‘to weigh or consider’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400examiner‘to consider’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500examinen
- Englishearliest quotation 1979examine
Earliest quotation: 1979, Ashford & Simpson, Nobody Knows: “Well, nobody knows about the little things / Nobody…”
Linked words
through Latin agō ‘to drive’
act, action, active, agency, activity, actual, agent, actor, agenda, activate, squat, enact, agile, ambiguous, agility, assay, ambiguity, agitation, radium, actuator, cogent, actuation, actuate, redact, exigent, inexact, 98 more
Today it means
verb To observe carefully or critically to learn about someone or something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin agō / examine