Proven

How to spell proven

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce proven

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does proven mean?

1. adjectiveDemonstrated by experience or evidence to be true, reliable, or effective.
2. verbA past participle of 'prove': to have established the truth or validity of something.

Proven in a sentence

• adjective

  The company hired her because of her proven track record in sales.

• verb

  The lawyer argued that nothing had been proven beyond doubt.

• adjective

  This is a proven method for reducing energy bills at home.

• verb

  Her theory has since been proven correct by later research.

Where does proven come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is a past-participle form of the verb 'prove', which English took from Old French 'prover' and ultimately from the Latin 'probare', meaning 'to test, try, or judge as good'. That Latin verb grew from 'probus', an adjective meaning 'upright, honest, or of good quality', so the original idea was less about logical demonstration and more about showing something to be sound. The form 'proven', as opposed to 'proved', actually arose in Scots law, where a jury could return a verdict of 'not proven', and it gradually spread into general English over the past few centuries. Because both 'proved' and 'proven' survive as legitimate participles, writers sometimes hesitate over which to use, though the spelling of 'proven' itself is straightforward. The same Latin 'probare' also gives us 'probe', 'approve', and 'probable', all sharing that core sense of testing.

How the word is built

• prov- (from prove, to test or demonstrate)
• -en (past participle/adjective suffix)