[syn: identify, discover, key, key out, distinguish, describe, name]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Discover \Dis*cov"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discovered; p. pr.
& vb. n. Discovering.] [OE. discoveren, discuren, descuren,
OF. descovrir, descouvrir, F. d['e]couvrir; des- (L. dis-) +
couvrir to cover. See Cover.]
1. To uncover. [Obs.]
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Whether any man hath pulled down or discovered any
church. --Abp.
Grindal.
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2. To disclose; to lay open to view; to make visible; to
reveal; to make known; to show (what has been secret,
unseen, or unknown). [Archaic]
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Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover
The several caskets to this noble prince. --Shak.
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Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity
doth best discover virtue. --Bacon.
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We will discover ourselves unto them. --1 Sam. xiv.
8.
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Discover not a secret to another. --Prov. xxv.
9.
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3. To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of
a thing existing already, but not perceived or known; to
find; to ascertain; to espy; to detect. [WordNet sense
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
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Some to discover islands far away. --Shak.
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4. To manifest without design; to show.
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The youth discovered a taste for sculpture. --C. J.
Smith.
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5. To explore; to examine. [Obs.]
Syn: To disclose; bring out; exhibit; show; manifest; reveal;
communicate; impart; tell; espy; find; out; detect. --
To Discover, Invent. We discover what existed
before, but remained unknown; we invent by forming
combinations which are either entirely new, or which
attain their end by means unknown before. Columbus
discovered America; Newton discovered the law of
gravitation; Whitney invented the cotton gin; Galileo
invented the telescope.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Discover \Dis*cov"er\, v. i.
To discover or show one's self. [Obs.]
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This done, they discover. --Decker.
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Nor was this the first time that they discovered to be
followers of this world. --Milton.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
discover
v 1: discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of;
"She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water";
"We found traces of lead in the paint" [syn: detect,
observe, find, discover, notice]
2: get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I
learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you
have been promoted" [syn: learn, hear, get word, get
wind, pick up, find out, get a line, discover,
see]
3: make a discovery, make a new finding; "Roentgen discovered
X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary
particle" [syn: discover, find]
4: make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The
story is false, so far as I can discover" [syn: discover,
find]
5: find unexpectedly; "the archeologists chanced upon an old
tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck
the main path to the lake" [syn: fall upon, strike, come
upon, light upon, chance upon, come across, chance
on, happen upon, attain, discover]
6: make known to the public information that was previously
known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a
secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price at
which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how
old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to
her"; "unwrap the evidence in the murder case" [syn:
unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal,
discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let
out]
7: see for the first time; make a discovery; "Who discovered the
North Pole?"
8: identify as in botany or biology, for example [syn:
identify, discover, key, key out, distinguish,
describe, name]