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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