Discover

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.] [1913 Webster]

Whether any man hath pulled down or discovered any church. --Abp. Grindal. [1913 Webster]

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] [1913 Webster]

Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover The several caskets to this noble prince. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

We will discover ourselves unto them. --1 Sam. xiv. 8. [1913 Webster]

Discover not a secret to another. --Prov. xxv. 9. [1913 Webster]

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] [1913 Webster]

Some to discover islands far away. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

4. To manifest without design; to show. [1913 Webster]

The youth discovered a taste for sculpture. --C. J. Smith. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]