Etymologically
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find

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English finden, inherited from Old English findan (“to come upon, meet with; discover”),[3][4] from Proto-Germanic *findan (“to come upon, discover”).[3] Its cognates include Dutch vinden, German finden, Old Norse finna and Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰𐌽 (finþan).[3][5][6] According to Watkins the Germanic word is from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to tread, go”),[3][7] the source also of Latin pōns (“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “open sea”) and Sanskrit पन्थाः (pánthāḥ, “path”),[3][8][6] the sense passing from “go” to “come upon”, as in invenīre (“to find, literally to come upon”);[6][3] Etymonline notes that Boutkan has serious doubts about this.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To come upon, light on (Old English, about 725, in Beowulf, and finden in 1013).[9][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense of supplying or providing, as in well found, is very old, and Weekley suggests it may imitate the Anglo-French use of trouver.[10] In law, to determine an issue and pronounce on it, as in found guilty, is recorded from 1429.[11][12] To find out, to discover by scrutiny, is from the 1550s;[3] Middle English had a verb outfinden.[3] Reflexive find oneself, to discover one's vocation, dates from the 16th century.[11] A euphemistic slang use, “to steal”, is recorded from the 1830s.[13][14] The noun, a discovery, first appears in Southey's letters in 1825;[9][3] by 1847 it meant something found, and by 1890 a person brought to public notice, originally in America.[14][11] The verbal noun finding first meant an abandoned child (about 1300) and later a discovery.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English findan, in Beowulf.[9]
  • 1429 – in law, to determine and declare.[11]
  • 1550s – find out.[3]
  • 1615 – to find one's feet.[14]
  • 1825 – noun, a discovery.[5][3][15]
  • 1833 – slang, to steal.[13]
  • 1890 – a person discovered to be talented.[14]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To come upon, often by chance; to encounter.
  2. To discover or obtain by searching or effort: find a job or find the time.
  3. To discover by study or calculation; to ascertain: find the answer.
  4. To perceive or experience something to be so: found the wine sour.
  5. To regain the use of: found his tongue.
  6. To reach or arrive at: the bullet found its mark.
  7. (law) To decide and declare a verdict: found him guilty.
  8. To provide or supply.

Noun

  1. The act of finding.
  2. Something found, especially a valuable discovery, or a person whose ability proves unexpectedly good.

Word family

  • findable
  • finder
  • refind
  • unfindable
  • viewfinder
  • find out
  • path
  • pontoon
  • foundling
  • finding

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  11. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  12. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
  13. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  14. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  15. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster