Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRO-BA'TION-ER, n.

1. One who is on trial, or in a state to give proof of certain qualifications for a place or state. While yet a young probationer, / And candidate for heaven. – Dryden.
2. A novice. – Decay of Piety.
3. In Scotland, a student in divinity, who, producing a certificate of a professor in a university of his good morals and qualifications, is admitted to several trials, and on acquitting himself well, is licensed to preach. – Encyc.