Discovery
/dɪˈskʌv.ər.i/noun
The act of finding or learning something for the first time, or the thing that is found.
Did you know?Discovery comes from a prefix meaning “un-” plus a verb meaning “to cover,” so the word originally carried the image of something being physically exposed rather than magically revealed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱu̯er-
“to cover, protect”
Latin
Latin
cooperīre
“to cover over, conceal”
Old French
Old French
descovrir
“to uncover, reveal”
Middle English
English
discoveren
“to uncover, reveal, make known”
Modern English
English
discovery
“the act of finding something previously unknown or hidden”