Emily Dickinson Lexicon

EX-AM-IN-A'TION, n. [L. examinatio. See Examen.]

1. The act of examining; a careful search or inquiry, with a view to discover truth or the real state of things; careful and accurate inspection of a thing and its parts; as, an examination of a house or a ship.
2. Mental inquiry; disquisition; careful consideration of the circumstances or facts which relate to a subject or question; a view of qualities and relations, and an estimate of their nature and importance.
3. Trial by a rule or law.
4. In judicial proceedings, a careful inquiry into facts by testimony; an attempt to ascertain truth by inquiries and interrogatories; as, the examination of a witness or the merits of a cause.
5. In seminaries of learning, an inquiry into the acquisitions of the students, by questioning them in literature and the sciences, and by hearing their recitals.
6. In chimistry and other sciences, a searching for the nature and qualities of substances, by experiments; the practice or application of the docimastic art.