Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRO-TEST', v.t.

1. To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation. Fiercely they oppos'd / My journey strange, with clamorous uproar / Protesting fate supreme. – Milton.
2. To prove; to show; to give evidence of. [Not in use.] – Shak.
3. In commerce, to protest a bill of exchange, is for a notary public, at the request of the payee, to make a formal declaration, under hand and seal, against the drawer of the bill, on account of non-acceptance or non-payment, for exchange, cost, commission, damages and interest; of which act the indorser must be notified within such time as the law or custom prescribes. In like manner, notes of hand given to a banking corporation are protested for non-payment.