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discovery

Etymology and origin of the English word discovery

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1553
Ultimate origin
English (discover,-y)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English discover
English discovery

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈskʌv.ər.i/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English discover + -y,[2][3] on the pattern of the pair recover, recovery.[3][4] It is related to cover and recovery.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Finding out what was previously unknown: 1553 in the OED, the 1550s in Etymonline, in Hakluyt.[5][2] Earlier in this sense was discovering, from the mid-14th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

Revealing or divulging something secret is from the 1580s (1586 in the OED), a sense that kept the usual Middle English meaning of discover.[2][5] It is now obsolete except in law, where disclosure of facts or documents by a party to an action is from 1715.[2][5] That which is discovered is from the 1630s.[2] Exploration or reconnaissance is from 1605 and is obsolete.[5] The unfolding of the plot of a play is from 1727–51,[5] and in American mining, the first finding of a mineral deposit, from 1812.[5]

Timeline

  • 1553 – finding out.[5]
  • 1586 – revealing a secret.[5]
  • 1630s – a thing discovered.[2]
  • 1715 – in law, disclosure.[5][2]
  • 1812 – in mining.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of finding something or learning something that was not known before.
  2. Something or someone that has been found or learned.
  3. (law) The compulsory disclosure of documents or facts to the other party in a case.

Word family

  • nondiscovery
  • prediscovery
  • rediscovery
  • self-discovery

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Discovery.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/discovery. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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