''probate'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260915190735-00-⌔

probate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

probate (countable and uncountable, plural probates)

• (law) The legal process of verifying the legality of a will.
  • ✤ The probate file reveals that Stephen Tetuan, attorney for the estate and author of McBride’s will, wrote to Lemieux on Auust 29, 1984, encouraging him “to serve as trustee and to retain local counsel to represent your interests as trustee.”¹
• (law) A copy of a legally recognised and qualified will.
• Clipping of probate court.
• (obsolete) Proof.
  • ✤ *Macrobius that did trete
    Of Scipions dreme what was the treu probate *²

Verb

probate (third-person singular simple present probates, present participle probating, simple past and past participle probated)

• (transitive) To establish the legality of (a will).

Etymology

From Middle English probate, from Latin probatus, past participle of probare (“to test, examine, judge of”); see probe, prove.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɹəʊbeɪt/
• Audio (Southern England): 🔊
• (obsolete) IPA: /ˈpɹəʊbɪt/, /ˈpɹəʊbət/
• Rhymes: -əʊbeɪt

Printed 2026-09-15.

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Footnotes

1. 1981 December 1, Micheline Justman, “Man Defends Erie Gay Will”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 20, page 15: ↩

2. a. 1529, John Skelton, Garlande of Laurell: ↩