Dis-cŏv'er1, v. t.
(dis-kŭv'er), v. t. [imp. & p. p. DISCOVERED; p. pr. & vb. n. DISCOVERING.] [Prefix dis and cover, q. v.; O. Fr. descouvrir, now découvrir, Pr. descobrir, descubrir, Sp. & Pg. descubrir; It. discoprire, scoprire.]
Sense 1. To remove the covering or envelope from; to disclose; to lay open; to expose to view; to make manifest; to show.
Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover The several caskets to this noble prince. Shak.
The old consular line of the Frangipani discover their name in the generous act of breaking or dividing bread in a time of famine. Gibbon.
Sense 2. To reveal; to make known.
We will discover ourselves unto them. 1 Sam. xiv. 8.
Discover not a secret to another. Prov. xxv. 9.
Sense 3. To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of a thing existing already, but not perceived or known; to espy; to find out; to ascertain; to detect.
When we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand. Acts xxi. 3.
Synonyms—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; Whitney invented the cotton-gin. Newton discovered the law of gravitation; Galileo invented the telescope.