English → Latin
“probe” in Latin
specillumprobe (surgical), speculumexplōrōto investigate, search out, seek, discover, examine, explore; to spy out, reconnoitre; to test, try, put to the proofexquīrōto seek or seek out, search for or hunt up; to inquire intoscrūtorto search carefully, search into or out, examine thoroughly, explore a thing, investigate; to seek forinvestīgōto track or trace out, search after; to discover, investigate, search into
The English word probe itself goes back to Latin probus, through probare.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
probe s.
specillum (Cic.; Cels.).
probe v.
PROP., *specillo vulnus explorare.
Figuratively, explorare: exquirere: scrutari, perscrutari aliquid. (The words are found in this connection and order.) investigare et scrutari: indagare et pervestigare: investigare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for probe?
- The usual Latin words for “probe” are specillum, explōrō, exquīrō; also scrūtor, investīgō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.