Discover, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discovered; p. pr. & vb. n. Discovering.]
Etymology: [OE. discoveren, discuren, descuren, OF. descovrir, descouvrir, F. découvrir; des- (L. dis-) + couvrir to cover. See Cover.]
1. To uncover. [Obs.] Whether any man hath pulled down or discovered any church. Abp. Grindal.
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). Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover The several caskets to this noble prince. Shak. Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue. Bacon. We will discover ourselves unto them. 1 Sam. xiv. 8. Discover not a secret to another. Prov. xxv. 9.
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. Some to discover islands far away. Shak.
4. To manifest without design; to show. The youth discovered a taste for sculpture. C. J. Smith.
2 more senses
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.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Discover, v. i.
To discover or show one's self. [Obs.] This done, they discover. Decke Nor was this the first time that they discovered to be followers of this world. Milton.
Shades of meaning
Of human actions or character, detect is used, almost without exception, in a bad sense; discover may be used in either the good or the bad sense, oftener in the good; he was detected in a fraud; real merit is sure to be discovered. In scientific language, detect is used of delicate indications that appear in course of careful watching; as, a slight fluttering of the pulse could be detected. We discover what has existed but has not been known to us; we invent combinations or arrangements not before in use; Columbus discovered America; Morse invented the electric telegraph. Find is the most general word for every means of coming to know what was not before certainly known. A man finds in the road some stranger's purse, or finds his own which he is searching for. The expert discovers or detects an error in an account; the auditor finds the account to be correct. Compare discern.