proven

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   established beyond doubt

   a proven liar

2. 2
   adj

   Having been proved; having proved its value or truth.

   It's a proven fact that morphine is a more effective painkiller than acetaminophen is.

3. 3
   verb

   past participle of prove

Etymology

From Scottish English, as past participle of preve, a Middle English variant of prove – compare woven (from weave) and cloven (from cleave), both of which feature -eve → -oven. Preve died out in England, but survived in Scotland, where proven developed, initially in a legal context, as in “The jury ruled that the charges were not proven.” See usage notes for historical usage patterns. Earlier, from Late Latin probō (“test, try, examine, approve, show to be good or fit, prove”, verb), from Latin probus (“good, worthy, excellent”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰuH-s (“being in front, prominent…