- probate (n.)
- "official proving of a will," c. 1400, from Latin probatum "a thing proved," neuter of probatus "tried, tested, proved," past participle of probare "to try, test, prove" (see prove).
- probate (v.)
- 1560s, "to prove," from probate (n.) or from Latin probatus, past participle of probare. Specific sense of "prove the genuineness of a will" is from 1792. Related: Probated; probating.
