PROBATION

noun the act of proving; also, that which proves anything; proof.

2. probation ·noun the trial of a ministerial candidate's qualifications prior to his ordination, or to his settlement as a pastor.

3. probation ·noun the novitiate which a person must pass in a convent, to probe his or her virtue and ability to bear the severities of the rule.

4. probation ·noun any proceeding designed to ascertain truth, to determine character, qualification, ·etc.; examination; trial; as, to engage a person on probation.

5. probation ·noun moral trial; the state of man in the present life, in which he has the opportunity of proving his character, and becoming qualified for a happier state.