Discoverour

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of discoverer, meaning a person who finds out or brings to light something previously unknown
2. An obsolete form of discoverer, referring to someone who uncovers, reveals or first sights something hidden
3. A older variant spelling for one who detects, reveals or makes known something that had been concealed or unseen

Etymology: The word is a Middle English spelling of "discoverer," and its story starts with "discover" itself, which literally means "uncover." It comes from Old French "descovrir," where "des-" reverses the action and "covrir" means "to cover," from Latin "cooperire." A discoverer, then, was originally one who lifted the covering off something hidden. That physical sense is still present in the older meanings. Early uses of "discover" referred to revealing a concealed object or disclosing a secret, and the agent noun carried the same idea. In Middle English the sense of one who makes known what was hidden could slide toward informer or betrayer, someone who exposes another person's secret. The sense of finding new lands or facts developed later, as the emphasis moved from revealing what was concealed to discovering what was previously unknown. The "-our" ending is the Anglo-French form of the agent suffix "-er," which English later standardised as "discoverer." Dates for the earliest attestations are uncertain to me, so I would not rely on a specific century here.

Synonyms: discoverer