tester

UK: /ˈtɛstə^r/ US: (tes′tər; also for Furniture, tēs′ər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

test•er¹  (tes′tər), n. 

1. a person or thing that tests.

• test¹ + -er¹ 1655–65

tes•ter²  (tes′tər, tēs′-), n. 

1. Furniture a canopy, as over a bed or altar.

• Medieval Latin testrum canopy of a bed; akin to Latin testa covering. See test²
• Middle English 1350–1400

tes•ter³  (tes′tər), n. 

1. Currency the teston of Henry VIII.

• earlier testorn, variant of teston, with -r- from Middle French testart teston 1540–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tester / ˈtɛstə/ noun

1. a person or thing that tests or is used for testing

tester / ˈtɛstə/ noun

1. (in furniture) a canopy, esp the canopy over a four-poster bed

Etymology: 14th Century: from Medieval Latin testerium, from Late Latin testa a skull, from Latin: shell