Main Entry: ¹ex·per·i·ment

Pronunciation: \ik-ˈsper-ə-mənt also -ˈspir-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French esperiment, from Latin experimentum, from experiri

Date: 14th century

1 a : test, trial <make another experiment of his suspicion — Shakespeare> b : a tentative procedure or policy c : an operation or procedure carried out under controlled conditions in order to discover an unknown effect or law, to test or establish a hypothesis, or to illustrate a known law
2 obsolete : experience
3 : the process of testing : experimentation