prüfen

From Middle High German prüeven (13th c.), originally restricted to Central German. Ultimately from Latin probāre and hence a doublet of proben and probieren. The Middle High German form with umlaut (and also Rückumlaut in the past tense pruofte) suggests a Proto-West Germanic *prōfijan, whence also Dutch proeven, Middle Low German prö̂ven. The late attestation on the other hand speaks in favour of a later borrowing from Old French prouver. In this case the word may have passed through Middle Dutch, which would explain the umlaut as analogical (cf. the lack of long umlaut vowels in western Dutch vs. their presence in eastern dialects).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʁyːfən/

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• Hyphenation: prü‧fen

prüfen (weak, third-person singular present prüft, past tense prüfte, past participle geprüft, auxiliary haben)

1. to check, test, examine
   1. to subject (something) to an inspection or review

      Synonyms: untersuchen, nachsehen, begutachten, testen, kontrollieren, inspizieren

   2. to subject (someone or something) to a formal test or trial

      Synonyms: testen, beurteilen, begutachten

2. (of God or fate) to try, to put (someone) through hardship

   Synonyms: heimsuchen, versuchen

• “prüfen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “prüfen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “prüfen” in Duden online
• “prüfen” in OpenThesaurus.de