Etymograph

English

probate

Probate comes from Latin probatus ‘tested, inspected, having been tested’, from probō ‘to test, examine, judge of’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰH-wó-s ‘being in front’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pro-bʰH-wó-s1‘being in front’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβāō1‘to approve’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobō2as probare, past participle‘to test, examine, judge of’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobatus2‘tested, inspected, having been tested’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500probate2
  6. Englishearliest quotation a. 1529probate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin probo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English probate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1529, John Skelton: “Macrobius that did trete Of Scipions dreme what was…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pro-bʰH-wó-sWiktionary, Latin probo‘being in front’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβāōWiktionary, Latin probo‘to approve’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobōWiktionary, English probateas probare, past participle‘to test, examine, judge of’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobatusWiktionary, English probate‘tested, inspected, having been tested’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500probateWiktionary, English probate
  6. Englishearliest quotation a. 1529probateWiktionary, English probate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1529, John Skelton: “Macrobius that did trete Of Scipions dreme what was…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰH-wó-s ‘being in front’

probe, probity, 5 more

through Proto-Italic *proβāō ‘to approve’

approve, 14 more

through Latin probō ‘to test, examine, judge of’

improve, prove, proof, approbation, 15 more

Today it means

noun The legal process of verifying the legality of a will.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “probate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin probo. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰH-wó-s / probate

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