Etymograph

English

examination

Examination comes from Latin exāminātiō ‘weighing, examination’, and goes back to agō ‘to drive’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō1‘to drive’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāmen2‘a consideration, an examining’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāminō3‘to weigh or consider’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāminātiō4‘weighing, examination’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400examinacion4
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500examinacioun4
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2002examination4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin examen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin examino
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin examinatio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English examination
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Paul Hyman, Infant Dyschezia: Looking out for Number Two: “In a child with infant dyschezia, physical examination and…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagōWiktionary, Latin examen‘to drive’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāmenWiktionary, Latin examino‘a consideration, an examining’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāminōWiktionary, Latin examinatio‘to weigh or consider’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexāminātiōWiktionary, English examination‘weighing, examination’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400examinacionWiktionary, English examination
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500examinaciounWiktionary, English examination
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2002examinationWiktionary, English examination. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Paul Hyman, Infant Dyschezia: Looking out for Number Two: “In a child with infant dyschezia, physical examination and…”

Formed from examine + -ation

Latin agō ‘to drive’

Latin exāmen ‘a consideration, an examining’

Latin examino ‘to weigh or consider’

Old French examiner ‘to consider’

Middle English examinen

English examine

Linked words

through Latin agō ‘to drive’

act, agency, actual, agent, action, active, activity, actor, agenda, activate, ambiguous, agile, agility, squat, assay, enact, ambiguity, radium, cogent, agitation, actuator, exigent, redact, actuate, actuation, inexact, 97 more

Today it means

noun The act of examining.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “examination”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin examen, Latin examino, Latin examinatio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin agō / examination

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