Definitions: (1) the study of the physical and natural world based on the methods and principles characterized by systematic observation, measurement, and experimentation; (2) the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses against the evidence obtained
Derivation: Latin, “to know;” Middle English, “knowledge”
Comment: Once the procedures of testing & verifications have been sufficiently processed, common knowledge grants its stamp of approval and the word proof can be applied to it. Nonetheless the scientific process always remains open for further advances. Maybe there will be better telescopes developed; or new variables added needing further testing; or even a new theory proposed.
Observation: Science needs more religion, not less. And religion needs more science. The two need each other. Science is a form of devotion, a kind of religion since it is based on the laws designed by God. — [Attributed to] Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ Galilei (1564-1642) Italian astronomer, physicist, & engineer