Find

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /faɪnd/

Definitions

1. To discover or locate something through searching or by chance
2. To locate or uncover an object or information while searching or by accident
3. To come upon or identify something after looking or by happenstance

Etymology: Old English "findan" had a sense of going rather than seeking. Its root, reconstructed as "pent-", meant "to go, pass" or "path, bridge", and the same root gives English "path" and Latin "pons", meaning bridge. The idea behind finding was once something like coming upon a place by moving along a way, so to find something was to arrive at it. Over time the meaning shifted from reaching a place to obtaining or perceiving something. Russian shows a parallel development: "najti", meaning "to find", is connected to "idti", meaning "to go". Modern English keeps only the sense of locating or discovering, but the word's older core is still movement toward something.

Synonyms: discover, locate, unearth, identify, detect

Antonyms: lose, misplace, overlook