|Test Test noun [ Middle English test test, or cupel, potsherd,
French têt , from Latin testum an earthen vessel; akin to testa
a piece of burned clay, an earthen pot, a potsherd, perhaps for
tersta , and akin to torrere to patch, terra earth (cf. Thirst ,
and Terrace ), but confer Zend tasta cup. Confer Test a shell,
Testaceous a covering, a coin, Testy , Tête-Ã - tête .] 1.
(Metal.) A cupel or cupelling hearth in which precious metals
are melted for trial and refinement. Our ingots, tests , and
many mo. Chaucer. 2. Examination or trial by the cupel; hence,
any critical examination or decisive trial; as, to put a man's
assertions to a test . "Bring me to the test ." Shak. 3. Means
of trial; as, absence is a test of love. Each test every light
her muse will bear. Dryden. 4. That with which anything is
compared for proof of its genuineness; a touchstone; a standard.
Life, force, and beauty must to all impart, Pope. 5.
Discriminative characteristic; standard of judgment; ground of
admission or exclusion. At onc