provand 
In the yeare 154.1 the weather was so cold that the pror- 
ant wine ordained for the army, being frozen, was divided 
with hatchets, and hy the suuldiers carried away in bas- 
kets. Ilakrtrill, Apology, II. vll. 1 1. 
The good whcaten loaves of the Flemings were better 
than the provant rye-bread of the Swede. 
Scott, Legend of Montrose, II. 
provandt, provendt (prov'and, -end), v. t. [Also 
provant, provent (f ) ; < OF. provender, supply 
with provisions, < provende, provision, proven- 
der : see provand, provend, n.j To supply with 
provender, provisions, or forage. 
Do throughly provend well your horse, for they must 
bide the brunt. Hall, Homer (U>M), p. 30. (Xam.) 
Should . . . provant and victuall moreover this mon- 
strous army of strangers. 
.V.i.--/..', Lenten Stufle (Harl. Misc., VI. 1 1 < i 
provant-mastert, . An officer who served out 
provisions, etc., to soldiers. Barnaby Sich, 
Fruites of Long Experience (1604), p. 19. 
(Balliwell.) 
prove (prov), v.: pret. proved, pp. proved (some- 
times incorrectly proven), ppr. proving. [< ME. 
proven (partly < AS. profiun), also preven (> 
early mod. E. prieve, preeve), < OF. proper, prou- 
ver, prui-er, preuver, F. prouver = Pr. provar = 
Sp. probar = Pg. provar = It. probare = AS. 
profian, test, try, prove, = LG. proren, proven = 
MHG. pruonen, priieven, G. priifen (also pro- 
ben and probieren) = Icel. profa, prova = Sw. 
profva (also probera) = Dan. prove (also pro- 
bere), < lj. probare, test, try, examine, approve, 
show to be good or fit, prove, < probus, good, 
excellent. Cf. probe, probity, proof, etc., and 
cf. approve, disprove, improve, reprove, etc., aj>- 
probatc. reprobate, etc., approbation, probation, 
etc.] I. trans. 1. To try by experiment, or by 
a test or standard; test; make trial of; put to 
the test : as, to prove the strength of gunpow- 
der ; to prove the contents of a vessel by com- 
paring it. with a standard measure. 
I bad Thoujt tho be mene bltwene, 
And put forth somme purpos to proven his wittes. 
Fieri Plmeman (B), viii. 120. 
Ne would I it have ween'd, had I not late it primed. 
Spenter, F. Q., V. iv. 33. 
Yell say that I've ridden but Into the wood. 
To prieve gin my horse and hounds are good. 
Sir (Xu/and the Elf.King'i Daughter (Child's Balladx, 
11.300). 
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and 
I go to prove them. Luke xlv. 19. 
I have proved thec, thou art never destitute of that 
which is convenient. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 302. 
He felt happy, and yet feared to prove 
His new-born bliss, lest it should fade from him. 
William Morrit, llurthly Paradise, III. 342. 
2. To render certain ; put out of doubt (as a 
proposition) by adducing evidence and argu- 
mentation; show; demonstrate. 
That pltee renneth sone in gentil herte . . . 
Is preoed al day, as men may it see, 
As wel by werk as by auctoritee. 
Chaucer, Squire's Tale, 1. 473. 
Give me the ocular proof; . . . 
Make me to see 't ; or, at the least, go prom it 
That the probation bear no hinge nor loop 
To hang a doubt on. Shale., Othello, ill. 3. 360. 
The wise man . . . hath condescended to ;ir..iv as well 
as assert It, and to back the severe rule he hath laid down 
with very convincing reasons. 
Dp. Attertoury, Sermons, I. vl. 
Reduc'd to practice, his beloved rule 
Would only prove him a consummate fool. 
Coicper, Conversation, 1. 140. 
8. To establish the authenticity or validity of ; 
obtain probate of: as, to prove a will. See 
probate. 
The holy crosse was provyd by reayiig of a Dede man 
whanne they wer In Dowte whicne it was of the thre. 
Torkingvm, Diarie of Eng. Travel!, p. 41. 
4. To have personal experience of ; experience ; 
enjoy or suffer. 
But I did enter, and enjoy 
What happy lovers prove. 
Came, Deposition from Love, (ffaret.) 
Let him in arms the power of Turnus prow. 
Dryden, Xneld, vii. 610. 
Such feebleness of limbs thou prov'it 
That now at every step thou mov'st 
Upheld by two. Cowper, To Mary (1793X 
5. In arith., to ascertain or demonstrate the 
correctness of (an operation or result) by a cal- 
culation in the nature of a check : as, to prove a 
sum. Thus, in subtraction, if the difference between two 
numbers added to the lesser number makes a sum equal to 
the greater, the correctness of the subtraction is prowd. 
6. In priiitiiit/. to take a proof of To prove 
masteries*, to make trial of skill ; contend for the mas- 
ter}. 
He would often run, leape, or prove masteries with his 
chiefe courtiers. Knolles, Hist. Turks, 516. I. (Aam.) 
= Syn. 2. To verify, justify, confirm, substantiate, make 
good, manifest 
4803 
II. intraim. 1. To make trial; essay. 
It Is a pur pardoners craft ; prove and aasaye ! 
Pirn Plottman't Great (E. E. T. H.), 1. 247. 
2. To be found or ascertained to be by expe- 
rience or trial ; be ascertained or shown by the 
event or something subsequent ; turn out to be : 
as, the report proves to be true ; to prove useful 
or wholesome ; to prove faithful or treacherous. 
That prnred [Tar. preved] wel, for overal ther he cam, 
At wrastlynge he wolde have alwey the ram. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 547. 
If springing things be any jot dlmlnlsh'd, 
They wither in their prime, prove nothing worth. 
Shot., Venus and Adonis, 1. 418. 
If his children prove vicious or degenerous, ... we ac- 
count the man miserable. 
Jer. Taylor (ed. 18S5X Works, I. 717. 
He knows 
His end with mine Involved ; and knows that I 
Should prove a bitter morsel, and his bane, 
Whenever that shall be. \i /t . . f. I II. 808. 
When the two processes of deduction prove to be identi- 
cal, we have no choice but to abide by the result, and to 
assume that the one inference Is equally authoritative with 
the other. II. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 191. 
Hence 3. To become; be. 
Tell him, In hope hell prove a widower shortly ; 
I'll wear the willow garland for his sake. 
Shale., 3 Hen. VI., III. 3. 227. 
4f. To succeed; turn out well. 
If the experimentprotwd not. it might be pretended that 
the beasta were not Killed in the due time. Bacon. 
5. To thrive; be with young: generally said of 
cattle. Halliicell. To fend and provet. See/idi. 
To prove up, to show that the requirements of the law 
for taking up government land have been fulfilled, so that 
a patent for the same may be issued. [I*. S. ] 
Under these laws the settler Is obliged to pay the gov- 
ernment two hundred dollars for his claim, whether he 
provet up after a six months' residence, or waits the full 
limit of his time for making proof thirty three months. 
fiarper't May., LXXVII. 2:iS<. 
provet, " An obsolete form of proof . 
provectt (pro-vekf), a. [= OF. proved, a man 
advanced in years; < L. provectus, advanced 
(of time), pp. of procehere, carry forward, ad- 
vance, < pro, forth, + veherc, carry: see vehi- 
cle.] Advanced. 
We haue in daily experience that little Infantes assay- 
eth to folowe . . . the wordes ... of them that be pro- 
Ufi-te In yeres. Sir T. Elyol, The Govcrnour, 1. 4. 
provectant (pro-vek'tant), H. [< L. provehere, 
pp. prnvcctwt, carry forward, advance (see pro- 
vect), + -ant.] A covariant considered as pro- 
duced by the operation of a provector on a 
contravariant. 
provection (pro-vek'shon), n. [< LL. prorec- 
tio(n-), a carrying forward, an advancement, 
promotion, < L. prorrhcre, pp. iirovectiut, carry 
forward, advance : see proved.] In philol., the 
carrying of a terminal letter from a word to the 
next succeeding one, when it begins with a 
vowel, as the tone for that one, the father for that 
other. [Rare.] 
provector (pro-vek'tor), H. [XL., < L. proce- 
here, pp. provectug, carry forward, advance : see 
protect.] The contravariant operator (a, b, 
$ a f > <V ' ) m , where <>j , d,, etc., replace x, 
y, etc., in the quantic (a, b, . . . J x, y, . .)*", or 
any contravariant operator resulting from a 
similar substitution in any covariant of the 
original quantic. 
proveditort (pro-ved'i-tor), n. [Also provedi- 
tore, providitore; < It. proveditore (= Sp. pro- 
veedor = Pg. provedor), a provider, purveyor, < 
provedere, provide, purvey: see provide. Cf. 
provedor and purveyor.] 1. A purveyor; one 
employed to procure supplies; a provider. 
Thrice was he made, 
In dangerous annes, Venice pnvidetan. 
ManUm, What you Will, i. 1. 
'I In- entertainment that St, John's provcditarc, the an- 
gel, gave him was such as the wilderness did afford. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1836), I. 82. 
Ready money In open market . . . being found upon 
experience to be the beat proveditor of any. 
Blaclatone, Com., I. viii. 
2. An overseer ; a governor. 
When they have any great Expedition to make, they 
have always a Stranger for their General, but he is super- 
vis'd hy two Proreditort, without whom he cannot attempt 
any thing. HoiceU, Letters, I. I. SR. 
provedor, provedore (prov'e-d6r, -dor), //. 
[Also prondore; < Sp. /iroro'dor = Pg. prnn-- 
dor, provider, purveyor : see proveditor ami pur- 
veyor.] A purveyor; one wno provides neces- 
saries and supplies ; a proveditor. 
When the famous Beefsteak Club was first instituted 
he [Richard Eat court I had the office of proridore assigned 
him. IT. A' i'ii../. Art of Cookery, note on 1. 519 (Chalmers's 
[English PoeU> 
proventriculus 
I was much amused In watching ourprowdor, as he went 
x>ut 
piled i 
about cnllri-tlng things by ones and twos, until he had 
little cart quite full. 
Lady Braafy, Voyage of Sunbeam, I. xiv. 
proven (prO'vn), pp. [An improper form of 
proved, with -en 1 , suffix of strong participles, 
for orig. -erf 2 .] Proved: an improper form, 
lately growing in frequency, by imitation of 
the Scotch use in "not proven. 
The evidence Is voluminous ami conclusive, and hy com- 
mon consent a verdict of proton Is returned. 
if. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 422. 
Not proven, in Scott lav, a verdict rendered by a jury in 
a criminal case when the evidence Is insufficient to justify 
conviction, yet strong enough to warrant grave suspicion 
of guilt 
provenance (prov'e-nans), 11. [< F. provenance, 
origin, production: see provenience.] Origin; 
source or quarter from which anything comes; 
provenience: especially in the sense of 'place 
of manufacture, production, or discovery.' [A 
French term, better in the English form pro- 
venience.] 
[ Well-tombs] in which we have the use of metallic chis- 
els clearly and Indisputably Indicated, and the presence 
of bronze work of Oriental provenance. 
The Xation, XLVIII. 308. 
Style of art, historical probability, and the provenance, 
of the coins themselves, all seem to indicate a Spanish 
origin. B. V. Head, Hlstorla Numorum, p. 4. 
Provencal (F. pron. pro-von-sal'), a. and n. [< 
F. Provencal (< L. Prorincialis), < Provincia (> 
F. Provence), a former province of southeastern 
France, < L. provincia, a province, a Roman 
government outside of Italy: see province.] 
I. a. Pertaining or belonging to Provence in 
France, or to its old language. 
II. . 1. A native of Provence. 2. The Ro- 
mance tongue of Provence. It is the lamjvf 
<Foc, and was the dialect used by the Trouba- 
dours. See langue (foe. 
Abbreviated Pr. or Pror. 
Provence oil. See oil. 
Provence rose. [A misnomer for Prorins row.] 
Samo as cabbage-row. 
Provencial(pro-ven'shal), a. [=F. Proveiiy al ; 
< Pronnce + -ial.] Same as Provencal. 
provendt, provendet, and a. See provand. 
provendt, r. t. See nrorand. 
provender (prov'en-der), . [< ME. provrndre, 
< OF. prorendre, var. of prorende, allowance, 
provision: seo^rorawrf.] 1. Food; provisions; 
especially, dry food for beasts, as hay, straw, or 
corn; fodder. 
I fyndc paync for the pope and prmtendre for his palfrey. 
1'irrt Plowman ( H), xili. 248. 
Shall we go send them dinners and fresh suiU, 
And give their fasting horses provender, 
And after fight with them ? Shale., Hen. V., iv. 2. 58. 
In the connivance of his [the prodigal's| security, har- 
lots and sycophants rifle his estate, and then send him to 
rob the hogs of their provender, Jove's nuts, acorns. 
Ken. T. Ailamt, Works, I. 497. 
2f. A prebend. 
And porchace -w prouendrei while joure pans lasteth, 
And blgge sow benefices plurallte to haue. 
Pien Plowman (C), Iv. 82. 
= 8yn. L Fodder, etc. See/d, n. 
provender (prov'en-der), v. t. [(provender, n. 
Cf. provand, r.] To feed; fodder, as a horse. 
His horses (quatenns horses) are provcndcred as epi* 
Kathe, Lenten stutfc- (Hurl. Misc., VI. 179). (Dame*.) 
provendre't, H. A Middle English form of prov- 
ender. 
provendre 2 t, n. [ME., < OF. provendier, < ML. 
praeliendarius, a prebendary: see prebendary.] 
A prebendary. 
provenience (pro-ve'niens), n. [= F. prove- 
nance (> E. provenance) = It. provcnie:a, < NL. 
"provenientia, origin, < li.provenire, come forth, 
appear, originate, < pro, forth, + rewire, come.] 
Origin ; the place from which something conies 
or is derivea ; the place of production or deri- 
vation of an object, especially in the fine arts 
and in archteology. Compare provenance. 
Wherever the place in which an object was found, or 
to use a convenient word already borrowed by German 
archaeologists from the Italians and French its pro- 
venience,l stated. A. D. Savage, The Century, XXIV. 682. 
The surface of the marble [of a statue found at Slcyon] 
the provenience of which I am unable to state Is some- 
what corroded. Auter. Jour. Archteal., V. (1886) 298. 
proventt, . Same as prorand. 
proventrlcnlar (prd-ven-trik'u-lar), a. [< jtro- 
rewtrimlux + -ar^.] Pertaining to the proven- 
tricnlus: as, prorentricular glands; proventricu- 
lar digestion. 
proventriculus (pro-ven-trik'u-lus),n.; pi.pro- 
i-rntriculi (-11). [NL., < L. pro, before, + ven- 
triculiig, dim. of venter, stomach: see rentricle.] 
