逼自己（也希望大家一起）學完韋氏字根詞典（8）——PROB

03-02

PROB comes from the Latin words for 「prove or proof」 and 「honesty or integrity.」（源自於拉丁語，「證明或證據」以及「誠信或正直」） A probe, whether its a little object for testing electrical circuits or a spacecraft headed for Mars, is basically something thats looking for evidence or proof. And probable originally described something that wasnt certain but might be 「provable.」

approbation A formal or official act of approving; praise, usually given with pleasure or enthusiasm. （正式）

? The senate signaled its approbation of the new plan by voting for it unanimously.

Approbation is a noun form of approve, but approbation is usually stronger than mere approval.（比approval正式） An official commendation for bravery is an example of approbation; getting reelected to office by a wide margin indicates public approbation; and the social approbation received by a star quarterback in high school usually makes all the pain worthwhile.

probate The process of proving in court that the will of someone who has died is valid, and of administering the estate of a dead person. （過程，是關鍵）

? When her father died, she thought she would be able to avoid probate, but she wasnt that lucky.

Ever since people have written wills, those wills have had to be proven genuine by a judge. Without a probate process, greedy acquaintances or relatives could write up a fake will stating that all the persons wealth belonged to them. To establish a will as genuine, it must generally be witnessed and stamped by someone officially licensed to do so (though wills have sometimes been approved even when they were just written on a piece of scrap paper, with no witnesses). Today we use probate more broadly to mean everything thats handled in probate court, a special court that oversees the handling of estates (the money and property left when someone dies), making sure that everyone eventually receives what is properly theirs.

probity Absolute honesty and uprightness.

? Her unquestioned probity helped win her the respect of her fellow judges.

Probity is a quality the public generally hopes for in its elected officials but doesnt always get. Bankers, for example, have traditionally been careful to project an air of probity, even though banking scandals and bailouts have made this harder than ever. An aura of probity surrounds such public figures as Warren Buffett and Bill Moyers, men to whom many Americans would entrust their children and their finances.

reprobate A person of thoroughly bad character.

? His wife finally left him, claiming he was a reprobate who would disappear for weeks at a time, gambling and drinking away all his money.

The related verb of reprobate is reprove, which originally, as the opposite of approve, meant 「to condemn.」 Thus, a reprobate, as the word was used in Biblical translations, was someone condemned to hell. But for many years reprobate has been said in a tone of joshing affection, usually to describe someone of doubtful morals but good humor. Shakespeares great character Falstaff—a lazy, lying, boastful, sponging drunkard—is the model of a reprobate, but still everyones favorite Shakespeare character.