# testa
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin testa.

### Noun

testa (plural testas or testae or testæ)
* (botany) A seed coat.
    The testa develops from the tissue, the integument, originally surrounding the ovule.
** 1840, James Scott Bowerbank, A History of the Fossil Fruits and Seeds of the London Clay, page 30:The seeds are furnished with a reticulated testa, very much in appearance like that of the seeds of two closely-allied pericarps in the cabinet of my friend Mr. Ward, of Wellclose-square, the names of which I have been unable to obtain, but which present strong evidence of belonging to the Malvaceæ.
** 1969, C. W. Bennett, Seed Transmission of Plant Viruses, Alison Smith, Advances in Virus Research, Volume 14, page 224,
    In tests with the Lincoln and Virginia varieties of cowpea, Crowley (1959) found that, in plants infected with bean southern mosaic virus before blossoming, the virus was present in nearly 100% of the testae and endosperms of seeds of both varieties, but could not be detected in the embryos.
** 1977, Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial Research Organization, Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, page 354:Thus, two conditions must be satisfied for the testas to have this effect: contact between the testas and the radicle, and the presence of at least half of the testas.
** 2005, D. W. Dickson, D. De Waele, Nematode Parasites of Peanut, Michel Luc, Richard A. Sikora, John Bridge, Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Subtropical and Tropical Agriculture, page 419,
    A.$^{[Aphelenchoides]}$ arachidis is a parasite of pods, testae, roots and hypocotyls, but not the cotyledons, embryos or other parts of the plant (Bos, 1977a; Bridge et al., 1977).
** 2007, J. Smartt, “Evolution of American Phaseolus beans under domestication”, in Peter John Ucko, G. W. Dimbleby, editors, The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, page 458:One of the most remarkable features of cultivated beans is the enormous range of testa colours and patterns which can be found.
* (marine biology) The external calciferous shell, or endoskeleton, of an echinoderm; the test.

### Anagrams

* Tates, Teats, State, teats, state, Tetas, taste, atest, aetts, Satet

## Catalan
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin testa (“burned clay; baked earthenware”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈtes.tə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈtes.ta]

#### Noun

testa f (plural testes)
* (Empordanese) head
    Synonym: cap
* end (of a post, plank, barrel, etc.)
* (botany) testa (the outer layer of a seed coat)

##### Derived terms

* testarrada
* testarral
* testarrut
* testavirar
* testera
* testó

##### Related terms

* test

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈtes.tə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈtes.ta]

#### Adjective

testa
* feminine singular of test (“tense”)

### Etymology 3
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈtɛs.tə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈtes.ta]

#### Verb

testa
* inflection of testar (“to test”):
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Etymology 4
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈtes.tə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈtes.ta]

#### Verb

testa
* inflection of testar (“to witness”):
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “testa” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Franco-Provençal
### Noun

testa (Old Beaujolais, Piemontais)
* Alternative form of téta (“head”)

### References

* testa in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tɛs.ta/
* Audio:(file)

### Verb

testa
* third-person singular past historic of tester

### Anagrams

* états, tâtes, tétas

## Galician
### Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese testa (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin testa (“earthen pot”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛsta̝/

#### Noun

testa f (plural testas)
* forehead
** 1390, José Luís Pensado Tomé (ed.), Os Miragres de Santiago. Versión gallega del Códice latino del siglo XII atribuido al papa Calisto I. Madrid: C.S.I.C., page 133:
    Et avia ẽno rrostro hũu palmo et meo en longo et ẽna barua hũu palmo, et ẽno nariz hũu meo palmo; et ẽna testa hũu palmo et pouquo maisHe had a palmspan and a half in his face, and in the beard a palmspan, and half one in the nose; and in the front he had one palmspan and a little more
** 1434, A. López Carreira (ed.), Libro de Notas de Álvaro Afonso, doc. 90:
    os quaes roçiins era huun delles ven preto con hun signal enna testa et ho outro ben çerbyño con huna mancha enna testaone of that horses was really dark, with a signal in his forehead, and the other was tawny with a spot in his forehead
    Synonym: fronte
* (figurative) the whole head of a person
** 1697, several authors, Fiestas Minervales, Santiago: Antonio Frayz, page 34:Dubido do que farei / Para saír desta enfeita / Maxino roer as uñas / E bourar mui ben na testaI'm dubious on what to do / To exit of this preparation / I imagine gnawing my nails / And ably beating my head
    Synonyms: cabeza, cachola, croca
* limit of a property
    Synonyms: derrego, estremeiro, límite, lindeiro
* fore
    Synonym: fronte
* lid
    Synonym: tello

##### Derived terms

* entestar
* testalán
* testán
* testar

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtesta̝/

#### Adjective

testa f sg
* feminine singular of testo

### Etymology 3
#### Verb

testa
* inflection of testar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “testa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* “testa” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “testa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “testa”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “testa”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛ.sta/
* Audio (la testa):(file)
* Audio (testa):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛsta
* Hyphenation: tè‧sta
* (Rome) IPA: /tɛ(t)sːä/

### Etymology 1

From Latin testa. The semantic development is earthen pot → skull → head.

#### Noun

testa f (plural teste, diminutive testìna or testolìna or (uncommon, usually of butchered animals) testicciòla or (literary, uncommon, usually of butchered animals) testicciuòla, augmentative testóna or (with specialized meanings) testóne m, pejorative testàccia, derogatory testùccia)
* (anatomy) head
* (numismatics) obverse (of a coin)
* (anatomy) head (of a bone)
* (rail transport, singular only, uncountable) head (of a train), the first car(s)
    Antonym: coda
    La prima classe è in testa al treno ― The first class is at the head of the train

##### Synonyms

* (part of the body): capo

##### Derived terms

* a testa
* fuori di testa
* mal di testa
* montarsi la testa
* testa a testa
* testa calda
* testa d'uovo
* testa di cazzo
* testa di ponte
* testa di rapa
* testa di serie
* testa dura
* testa matta
* testa o croce
* testacoda
* testata
* testiera
* titoli di testa

##### Descendants

* → Alemannic German: Teste
* → Spanish: testa

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

testa
* inflection of testare:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### References

* ↑ testa in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

### Anagrams

* Setta, setta, state

## Latin
### Etymology

Unknown:
* Perhaps as if tosta, from torreō (“to burn, parch”).
* Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *tₔtḱ-t-, from *tetḱ- (“to create, produce”) (whence Latin texō (“to weave”)). Thus cognate with Middle Persian tšt' (tašt).
* Borrowed from a substrate language, as words for vessels often are.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈtes.ta/, [ˈt̪ɛs̠t̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈtes.ta/, [ˈt̪ɛst̪ä]

### Noun

testa f (genitive testae); first declension
* a piece of burned clay, brick, tile
* (transferred sense) a piece of baked earthenware
** an earthen pot, pitcher, jug, urn
** a sherd, potsherd
** a piece of bone
** ostracon (= ὄστρακον (óstrakon))
** the shell of shellfish or of testaceous animals, shellfish
** (Late Latin) skull
    Synonyms: calva, calvāria, crānium
* a sort of clapping with the flat of the hands (as if with two tiles), in token of applause, invented by Nero

#### Declension

First-declension noun.

#### Derived terms

* testū/ testum
* testūdō
* testula

#### Related terms

* testuātium
* testūdineātus
* testūdineus

#### Descendants

* Balkan Romance:
** Romanian: țeastă
* Italo-Romance:
** Italian: testa
*** → Alemannic German: Teste
*** → Spanish: testa
** Sicilian: testa
* Padanian:
** Friulian: teste
** Istriot: tiesta
** Old Ligurian: tiesta
*** Ligurian: tésta
** Romansch: testa
** Venetan: testa
* Northern Gallo-Romance:
** Franco-Provençal: téta
** Old French: teste
*** Champenois: téte
*** Middle French: teste
**** French: tête
*** Norman: tête, teet (Sark)
*** Walloon: tiesse
* Southern Gallo-Romance:
** Catalan: testa, Catalan: test
** Occitan: tèsta, testa (Limousin)
* Ibero-Romance:
** Asturian: tiesta
** Leonese: tiesta
** Old Galician-Portuguese: testa
*** Galician: testa
*** Portuguese: testa
** Old Spanish: tiesta

### References

* “testa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “testa”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* "testa", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* testa in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* “testa”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
* testa in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
* “testa”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
* Cravens, Thomas D. Cross-language evidence in etymology: The origin of 'testa' as 'head' in Romance. Neuphilologische Mitteilungen. 83: 53–60.
* ↑ “testa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 617

## Latvian
### Noun

testa m
* genitive singular of tests

## Lombard
### Alternative forms

* tèsta (Classical Milanese Orthography)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛsta/ (Milanese)

### Noun

testa f
* head

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Alternative forms

* testet

### Verb

testa
* inflection of teste:
** simple past
** past participle

## Occitan
### Noun

testa f (plural testas)
* Alternative form of tèsta

## Old Occitan
### Etymology

From Latin testa.

### Noun

testa f (oblique plural testas, nominative singular testa, nominative plural testas)
* head

#### Descendants

* Occitan: tèsta, testa (Limousin)

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈtɛs.tɐ/
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈtɛs.tɐ/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ˈtɛʃ.tɐ/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈtɛs.ta/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈtɛʃ.tɐ/
* Audio (Brazil):(file)
* Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɛstɐ, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -ɛʃtɐ
* Hyphenation: tes‧ta

### Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese testa, from Latin testa.

#### Noun

testa f (plural testas)
* forehead (part of the face above the eyebrows and below the hairline)

##### Derived terms

* de graça, até injeção na testa
* testa de ferro
* testão
* testeira
* testinha
* testudo

##### Related terms

* tête-à-tête
* tostão

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

testa
* inflection of testar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “testa”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French tester.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /teˈsta/

### Verb

a testa (third-person singular present testează, past participle testat) 1st conjugation
* (transitive) to test; to try
    Synonym: încerca

#### Conjugation
### References

* testa in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Romansch
### Etymology

From Latin testa (“pot”).

### Noun

testa f (plural testas)
* (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader) head

#### Usage notes

In Rumantsch Grischun, the literary standard language, testa is used in the figurative sense, and chau in the anatomical sense. Usage differs somewhat, however, between dialects.

#### Synonyms

* (Rumantsch Grischun) chau
* (Sursilvan) tgau
* (Sutsilvan) tgieu
* (Surmiran) tgea
* (Puter) cho
* (Vallader) cheu

## Sicilian
### Etymology

From Latin testa (“earthen pot”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /t̪ʲɛs(ʃ)ta/
* Hyphenation: te‧sta

### Noun

testa f (plural testi)
* (anatomy) head
* intelligent person
* intelligence

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtesta/ [ˈt̪es.t̪a]
* Rhymes: -esta
* Syllabification: tes‧ta

### Etymology 1

From Latin testa. Compare the inherited Old Spanish tiesta.

#### Noun

testa f (plural testas)
* head
* test (shell or endoskeleton of an echinoderm or certain plankton)

##### Derived terms

* testa coronada
* testa de ferro, testaferro

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

testa
* inflection of testar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “testa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Verb

testa (present testar, preterite testade, supine testat, imperative testa)
* to try, to attempt; (to see if a specific action is possible; also to see if a device works properly)

#### Conjugation

$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

### Further reading

* testa in Svensk ordbok.

### Anagrams

* etsat, ettas, satte, setat