proof
part of speech
noun (proof, proofs — usually uncountable); adjective (-proof in compounds: waterproof, childproof)
meaning for a pupil
1) Facts or evidence that show something is true. tree →
2) In maths, a set of clear steps that shows a statement must be true. tree →
3) Added to a word, "-proof" means protected against something: waterproof, soundproof, childproof. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah "put Me to proof" means to test God. It describes the people's testing of God in the wilderness. Interpretation: Tradition counts ten times that Israel tested God in the wilderness, and sees them as a lasting warning about trust. In the primary lessons: In science, proof means evidence from tests or observations. In maths, a proof explains why something is always true, not just for one example. In stories and detective tales, the detective looks for proof of who did it. In everyday life, you may need proof of age or proof of payment such as a receipt. Phrases: proof of, the proof that, waterproof jacket, childproof lid, bulletproof.
examples
- surely all those men that have seen My glory, and My signs, which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to proof these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice; (Torah NUM.14.22, JPS 1917) tree →
- Proofed, formatted and Unicode transliteration by John Bruno Hare. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- The proof of which is that air is a participator with both. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- Do you have proof that you finished your homework? tree →
- The footprints were proof that a fox had visited. tree →
- My coat is waterproof, so I stayed dry. tree →
- Medicine bottles have childproof lids. tree →
- The teacher showed a proof that the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees. tree →
- Keep the receipt as proof that you paid. tree →
- One example is not proof that a rule always works. tree →
note
Usually uncountable: "some proof", "no proof"; in maths it is countable: "two proofs". The verb is "prove". Trap: one example does not prove a rule; a counterexample can disprove it. "-proof" words like "waterproof" mean something stops water getting in, not that it is "proved". "Childproof" means hard for small children to open, not impossible.
In the corpora
- Being arrested means the police think someone may have committed a crime and will question them; it is not yet proof.
- When two stories contradict each other and there is no proof, the honest answer is «we don't know».
- AI helps scammers write perfect emails, so good spelling is no longer proof a message is real.
- The lawyers trusted the chatbot because it sounded so sure, and sounding sure is not proof.
- Confident writing makes people trust it, but confidence is not proof.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «proof» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.