In-vĕnʹtion, n.

n. [Lat. inventio, Fr. invention, Pr. inventio, Sp. invencion, It. invenzione. See supra.] 1. The act of finding out; contrivance of that which did not before exist; as, the invention of logarithms; the invention of the art of printing. As the search of it [truth] is the duty, so the invention will be the happiness of man. Tatham. 2. That which is invented; an original contrivance; a discovery; a device; a contrivance to deceive; a forgery; a fiction; as, the invention of a fable or falsehood. Filling their hearers With strange invention. Shak. We entered by the drawbridge, which has an invention to let one fall if not premonished. Evelyn.

3. The power of inventing; that skill or ingenuity which is, or may be, employed in contriving any thing new; as, a man of invention.
4. (Fine Arts, Rhet., &c.) The exercise of the imagination in selecting a theme, or more commonly in contriving the arrangement of a piece, or the method of presenting its parts.

Invention of the Cross, a festival in the Roman Catholic church, celebrated May 3d, in honor of the finding of our Savior’s cross. Brande.