discovery

[ dih-skuhv-uh-ree ]

noun

, plural dis·cov·er·ies.

1. the act or process of seeing, finding, or gaining knowledge of something previously unknown, or an instance of this:

   The university is dedicated to the discovery, development, communication, and application of knowledge in a wide range of academic and professional fields.

   Shortly after the discovery of the tomb, many people associated with the expedition died.

2. something found, found out, noticed, or realized:

   In 2009, archaeologists in Rome unearthed a startling discovery: the remains of an elaborate banquet hall built during the reign of Nero.

3. Law. the compulsory exchange or disclosure of information, evidence, documents, etc., in preparation for a lawsuit or trial:

   The plaintiff filed a motion to compel discovery, but the defendants argued that some of the information was exempt.

4. none Discovery. U.S. Aerospace. the third space shuttle to orbit and return to earth.

discovery

/ dɪˈskʌvərɪ /

noun

1. the act, process, or an instance of discovering
2. a person, place, or thing that has been discovered
3. law the compulsory disclosure by a party to an action of relevant documents in his possession

Other Words From

• non·dis·cov·er·y noun plural nondiscoveries
• pre·dis·cov·er·y noun plural prediscoveries
• re·dis·cov·er·y noun plural rediscoveries
• self-dis·cov·er·y noun plural selfdiscoveries

Word History and Origins

Origin of discovery¹

First recorded in 1545–55; discover + -y ³

Example Sentences

At other times, we’ve explored cutting-edge discoveries such as superconductivity in rotated sheets of graphene.

From Quanta Magazine

The upshot of these discoveries is that a tetrahedron must be scissors congruent to a cube to have a chance of tiling space.

From Quanta Magazine

Other parts of the world, such as Italy, have reported the discovery of covid-19 cases weeks or months before they were first reported in Wuhan in December 2019, the officials said.

From Washington Post

Having been a home brewer for about a decade now, I really enjoy new discoveries.

From Popular-Science

Our conversation about his dusty discoveries has been condensed and edited for clarity.

From Quanta Magazine

The story of fluoridation reads like a postmodern fable, and the moral is clear: a scientific discovery might seem like a boon.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, I wrote 212 pages of a novel called The Discovery of Sex that was bought, and I pulled it.

From The Daily Beast

The longtime pals—and co-stars of The Interview—stripped down and tried to survive on the Discovery Channel reality series.

From The Daily Beast

Rice had received this video in discovery during his criminal case, but it had not been aired publicly, as had the first video.

From The Daily Beast

Much has been said about Stuxnet in the years since its discovery.

From The Daily Beast

Henry Hudson sailed from Gravesend on his first voyage for the discovery of a northwest passage to India.

From Project Gutenberg

Its record is largely that of battles and sieges, of the brave adventure of discovery and the vexed slaughter of the nations.

From Project Gutenberg

Capt. Ross sailed from Shetland, on his first voyage for the discovery of the north-west passage.

From Project Gutenberg

It was supposed by many on its discovery to grow like the engraving given—in form resembling a tree or shrub rather than an herb.

From Project Gutenberg

The adventure had surprisingly followed upon the discovery that Alicia had been quite wrong.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• analysis
• detection
• diagnosis
• disclosure
• encounter
• exploration
• introduction
• revelation
• sighting

More About Discovery

What does discovery mean?

A discovery is something that has been discovered—found or found out about for the first time.

Discovery can also mean the process of discovering.

Discoveries involve finding or gaining knowledge about something that was previously unknown or unseen. The word is especially associated with finding new places (as in the discovery of new lands) and scientific breakthroughs (as in the discovery of a cure).

The word discovery is also used in a much more specific way in the context of law, in which it refers to the required disclosure of things like documents to the other party during a legal proceeding, as in These invoices were produced by client during discovery.

Example: Ancient Oceanic peoples discovered new methods of seafaring that allowed their discovery and settlement of faraway islands.

Where does discovery come from?

The first records of the word discovery come from the 1500s. It ultimately derives from the Late Latin discooperīre, meaning “to disclose” or “to expose.” The suffix -y is used to form abstract nouns from verbs (it’s used in the same way to form the noun recovery from the verb recover).

When a discovery is made, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the thing found had been covered or hidden. Though its use can sometimes overlap with discover, the word uncover typically means something different—“to expose” or “to reveal.” To discover a conspiracy is to find out that it exists, but to uncover it is to reveal it.

Discovery involves seeing, learning of, or encountering something for the first time. History books are filled with examples of people credited with the discovery of a new place even though it was already inhabited, or of people credited with having made some kind of scientific or technological discovery when in fact it was known about for a long time by someone else or by people in another part of the world. In cases like this, the so-called discoverer didn’t really discover the thing so much as they found it again.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to discovery? 

• discover (verb)
• rediscovery (noun)

What are some synonyms for discovery?

• find (when find is used as a noun)

What are some words that share a root or word element with discovery? 

• undiscovered
• cover
• uncover
• recovery

What are some words that often get used in discussing discovery?

• explore
• new
• place
• land
• country
• hidden
• knowledge
• secret
• unknown

How is discovery used in real life?

The word discovery is especially used in the context of exploration and scientific breakthroughs.

Two teenagers in Israel found a jar full of 425 gold coins stashed in the desert more than 1,100 years ago.The discovery could help archaeologists better understand the history of the region. https://t.co/QQnjTCHf6d

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 24, 2020

We've discovered more than 4,200 planets beyond our solar system – exoplanets – so far. Every discovery begins with a question and a team working to answer it. This week we'll introduce you to some of the people behind our science. pic.twitter.com/SGiOAKt8iY

— NASA Exoplanets (@NASAExoplanets) August 24, 2020

A discovery made by a geology professor turned out to be a bigger deal than he could have imagined: what he stumbled upon were the oldest vertebrate fossil tracks ever found at Grand Canyon National Park — about 313 million years old. https://t.co/nZxqrZz4so

— CNN (@CNN) August 22, 2020

 

 

Try using discovery!

Which of the following things could be considered a discovery?

A. a newly found species
B. a newly observed planet
C. a newly developed cure
D. all of the above