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Etymology and origin of the English word rediscover

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1625 P. Heylyn, Mikrokosmos More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origins
Anglo-Norman re-Old French descovrir
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English discover
English rediscover
From the same root
English discovery ← discover

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌriːdɪˈskʌvə(r)/[1]
  • US: /ˌriːdɪˈskʌvɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + discover.[2][3][4][5] Etymonline also records it written with a hyphen.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To discover again: 1625, in Peter Heylyn's Mikrokosmos, a description of the world.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1752, and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 18th century.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The OED's revised entry notes that the verb is now used especially of finding again someone or something that had been forgotten or ignored.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records its use for arriving independently at a technique or idea that had been found or used before, or for trying to recapture it.[4] The nouns rediscovery and rediscoverer follow in the mid and late 19th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1625 – to discover again.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1752.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To discover or find again something lost, forgotten or overlooked: In retirement he rediscovered his love of painting.[6][4][2]
  2. To bring back to public notice something long ignored.[4][2]
  3. To arrive independently at a method or idea that had been found before, or to try to recover it by study.[4]

Word family

  • rediscovery
  • rediscoverer

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Rediscover.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/rediscover. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·