examen

Etymology

From Latin exāmen (“the tongue of a balance, examination”), for exagmen, from exigere (“to weigh accurately, to treat”): compare French examen. See exact.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪɡˈzeɪ.mən/

Noun

examen (plural examens)

1. (obsolete) examination; inquiry
   • July 11, 1780, William Cowper, letter to the Rev. William Unwin

     For this reason I decline answering the question with which you concluded your last, and cannot persuade myself to enter into a critical examen of the two pieces upon Lord Mansfield's loss […]

References

• “examen”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• axemen

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exāmen. Compare the inherited eixam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əɡˈza.mən]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [eɡˈza.men]

Noun

examen m (plural exàmens)

1. exam, test

   Synonym: examinació

Further reading

• “examen” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “examen”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “examen” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “examen” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Alternative forms

• eksamen (before 1996)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch examen, from Latin exāmen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɛkˈsaː.mə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: exa‧men
• Rhymes: -aːmən

Noun

examen n (plural examens or examina, diminutive examentje n)

1. exam, examination, major test

Further reading

• “examen” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin exāmen. Doublet of essaim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɡ.za.mɛ̃/, /eɡ.za.mɛ̃/ ~ /ɛɡ.za.mɛ̃/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Homophone: examens

Noun

examen m (plural examens)

1. examination, inspection, study, analysis

   examen des pièces à conviction ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   examen de conscience ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   mettre en examen ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   mise en examen ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. exam, test

   examen oral ― oral exam

   examen écrit ― written test

   examen blanc ― mock exam

   examen médical ― medical test

   examen d’admission, examen d’entrée ― entrance examination

Further reading

• “examen”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Etymology

From *exagmen, ex- (“out”) +‎ agō (“I drive”) +‎ -men (noun-forming suffix, indicating the means, instrument, or result of an action). Compare the meanings again of weighing in Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́ξῐος (ắxĭos) of same root.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ekˈsaː.men/, [ɛkˈs̠äːmɛn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ekˈsa.men/, [eɡˈzäːmen]

Noun

exāmen n (genitive exāminis); third declension

1. swarm of bees; crowd

   examen apum

   A swarm of bees

2. tongue of a balance
3. a consideration, an examining

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “examen”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 3: D–F, page 257

Further reading

• “examen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “examen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "examen", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• examen in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “examen”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “examen”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exāmen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [eɡˈza.men]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

examen n (plural examene)

1. exam, examination, test

Further reading

• “examen”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exāmen.

Noun

examen m (plural examens)

1. exam

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exāmen. Compare the inherited doublet enjambre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɡˈsamen/ [eɣ̞ˈsa.mẽn]
• Rhymes: -amen
• Syllabification: e‧xa‧men

Noun

examen m (plural exámenes)

1. exam, examination, test

   Synonym: prueba

Further reading

• “examen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exāmen.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

examen c

1. exam
2. graduation
3. degree

   Den sökande bör ha en examen i ekonomi

   The applicant should have a degree in economics.