Experiri

Experiri is a Latin deponent verb meaning to test, to try, or to experience. Its principal parts are experior, experiri, expertus sum. As a deponent, it uses passive-form endings to express an active meaning, and it belongs to the third conjugation. In practice, its senses range from attempting or undertaking something to experiencing it firsthand or testing something by experience.

Etymology and related terms flow from the same verb family. The infinitive experiri yields English derivatives such as experience and experimental, and its perfect participle expertus contributes to words like expert and expertise. The semantic core ties testing and experience, linking the act of trying with the knowledge gained from undergoing an event.

Usage and nuance. Experiri appears in classical Latin to denote both physical or practical testing and experiential learning. It can express a deliberate attempt (to try to do something) as well as undergo a sensory or practical experience. In philosophical or rhetorical contexts, it may convey learning through experience or the process of testing a claim by experimentation. The verb often appears with direct objects in the sense of testing or trying something, or with contexts that emphasize undergoing experience.

See also: experimentum, experientia. The term’s Latin ancestry underpins many English words related to knowledge gained by testing or living through events, such as experience, experimental, and expert.