As an English teacher, the ability to wield the English language with precision and clarity is something I aspire to (and often fail...).
It is with some confusion then that I wonder whether a gun "submitted for proof" or "in or out of proof" has been "proofed", "proved", or "proven" at a Proof house...
My Maquarie dictionary says that to "prove" is to, among other things, to "put to the test; to try out" (a verb); it lists "proof" as a noun meaning, among other things: "a test; a trial", and "the condition of having been tested and approved".
I'll be consulting my shorter OED shortly for more, and perhaps try and find guidance in a Burchfield edition of Fowler...
What is the correct word usage?
Anyone able to help?
RG