Pro*nun"ci*a`tor (?), n. [L., a reciter.] One who pronounces; a
pronouncer.
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Pro*nun"ci*a*to*ry (?), a. Of or pertaining to pronunciation; that
pronounces.
Proof (?), n. [OF. prove, proeve, F. preuve, fr. L. proba, fr. probare
to prove. See Prove.]
1. Any effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover
a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial.
For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof.
Spenser.
You shall have many proofs to show your skill.
Ford.
Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits
was practiced, called the proof.
Ure.
2. That degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or
fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments that induce, or
tend to induce, certainty of the judgment; conclusive evidence;
demonstration.
I'll have some proof.
Shak.
It is no proof of a man's understanding to be able to confirm
whatever he pleases.
Emerson.
Properly speaking, proof is the effect or result of evidence, evidence
is the medium of proof. Cf. Demonstration, 1.
3. The quality or state of having been proved or tried; firmness or
hardness that resists impression, or does not yield to force;
impenetrability of physical bodies.