Examination

How to spell examination

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce examination

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does examination mean?

1. nounA formal test of knowledge or ability, usually written under timed conditions.
2. nounA careful inspection or scrutiny of something to judge its condition or truth.

Examination in a sentence

• The final examination covers everything taught this term.

• A close examination of the contract revealed a hidden clause.

• She revised for weeks before the law examination.

• The doctor scheduled a thorough examination of the injury.

Where does examination come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin examinatio, a noun built on the verb examinare, meaning 'to weigh' or 'to test'. That verb in turn came from examen, the name for the tongue or pointer of a balance scale, the little needle that shows whether two pans hang level. From this image of weighing something to judge its true value, the sense broadened to any careful testing or scrutiny. English took the word in through Old French examinacion during the 1300s, applying it first to legal and medical scrutiny and only later to formal tests of knowledge. The hidden 'i' in the middle, often swallowed in speech as a faint schwa, is the same syllable that survives in the original examen, which is exactly where careless spellers drop a letter.

How the word is built

• exam- (from examinare: to weigh, test)
• -ation (noun of action)