Dis*cov"er (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discovered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Discovering.] [OE. discoveren, discuren, descuren, OF. descovrir, descouvrir, F. d'ecouvrir; des- (L. dis-) + couvrir to cover. See Cover.]
1.
To uncover.
[Obs.]
Whether any man hath pulled down or discovered any church.
Abp. Grindal.
2.
To disclose; to lay open to view; to make visible; to reveal; to make known; to show (what has been secret, unseen, or unknown).
Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover
The several caskets to this noble prince.
Shak.
Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue.
Bacon.
We will discover ourselves unto them.
1 Sam. xiv. 8.
Discover not a secret to another.
Prov. xxv. 9.
3.
To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of a thing existing already, but not perceived or known; to find; to ascertain; to espy; to detect.
Some to discover islands far away.
Shak.
4.
To manifest without design; to show.
The youth discovered a taste for sculpture.
C. J. Smith.
5.
To explore; to examine.
[Obs.]
Syn. -- To disclose; bring out; exhibit; show; manifest; reveal; communicate; impart; tell; espy; find; out; detect. -- To Discover, Invent. We discover what existed before, but remained unknown; we invent by forming combinations which are either entirely new, or which attain their end by means unknown before. Columbus discovered America; Newton discovered the law of gravitation; Whitney invented the cotton gin; Galileo invented the telescope.
© Webster 1913.
Dis*cov"er, v. i.
To discover or show one's self.
[Obs.]
This done, they discover.
Decke.
Nor was this the first time that they discovered to be followers of this world.
Milton.
© Webster 1913.