Other forms: validated, validating, validates
To validate is to confirm that something is sound or true. Validate the results, validate a ticket, validate his feelings.
In research it means checking that a method measures what it claims. In systems it means checking that input is well-formed. In everyday emotional language, to validate somebody's feelings means acknowledging them as reasonable, which is now a very common use and a genuinely useful idea. Note validation; and that a validated ticket is one stamped as used.
1verbvalidateTo confirm that something is sound or true.
“Further experiments validated her theory.”
2verbacknowledgeTo acknowledge somebody's feelings as reasonable.
“A good friend will validate your feelings instead of telling you to cheer up.”
validate is a confirming.
Medieval Latin validare comes from validus, strong, from valere, to be strong. Valid, value and prevail come from the same strength.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂welh₁-
Middle French
valider
Medieval Latin
validātus — to validate
English, today
validate
1648; Medieval Latin validātus (“to validate”) (perhaps through Middle French valider), the perfect passive participle of validō (see -ate), from validus + -ō. by surface analysis, valid + -ate.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA