discovery

UK/dɪˈskʌv.ɹi/US/dɪˈskʌv.ɹi/

nounA2+2 meanings Very common — you will meet it every day · #2,248 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: discoveries

A discovery is the finding of something important that nobody knew before. A scientific discovery, make a discovery, the discovery of penicillin.

It covers both the act and the thing found. It is used of knowledge rather than objects made — you invent a machine and discover a principle, which is a distinction scientists and patent lawyers care about. In law, discovery is the pre-trial process of each side handing over documents to the other, which is a large part of what litigation costs. Note self-discovery, and the phrase the discovery that, which introduces the finding itself.

Definitions of discovery

1noundiscoveryThe finding of something important not known before.A2+
“The discovery was made by accident on a Friday afternoon.”
2nounfoundThe thing found.B1
“It was the most important discovery of the century.”

Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.

discovery is a finding.

Where it comes from

The word is dis-, undoing, plus cover — to discover is to take the cover off. The image is exact: a discovery does not create the thing, it removes what was hiding it.

Old French
descovrir
Middle English
discoveren
English
discover
English, today
discovery

from discover + ery, on the pattern of the pair recover, recovery. Displaced native onfundennes. discover comes from Middle English discoveren, from Old French descovrir. From Middle English discoveren, from Old French descovrir, from Latin discoperīre < discooperiō, from Latin dis- + cooperiō. Displaced native onfindan.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Science & Space

Practise this word

discovery in the wild

Data mining is the analysis step of the "knowledge discovery in databases" process, or KDD.
Data mining
Electronic discovery is subject to rules of civil procedure and agreed-upon processes, often involving review for privilege and relevance before data are turned over to the requesting party.
Electronic discovery
Other jurisdictions around the world also have rules relating to electronic discovery.
Electronic discovery
Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit.
Planets beyond Neptune
In such cases, the process of discovery requires at least the awareness that an existing concept or method could be modified or transformed.
Discovery (observation)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the descovrir family

discover discovery

discovery — used about once every 290 pages · #2,248 · point at the bar for the others

Definitions of discovery

1noundiscoveryThe finding of something important not known before.A2+

“The discovery was made by accident on a Friday afternoon.”

2nounfoundThe thing found.B1

“It was the most important discovery of the century.”

Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.

discovery is a finding.