find

Etymology

From Middle English finden, from Old English findan, from Proto-Germanic *finþaną (compare West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Norwegian Bokmål finne, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish finna), a secondary verb from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, pass; path bridge”), *pontHo- (compare English path, Old Irish étain (“I find”), áitt (“place”), Latin pōns (“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “sea”), Old Armenian հուն (hun, “ford”), Avestan [Term?] (gen. [Term?]), Sanskrit पथ (patha, “path”)).

Pronunciation

• enPR: fīnd, IPA^(key): /faɪnd/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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• Rhymes: -aɪnd
• Homophone: fined

Verb

"Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus", a painting by John William Waterhouse

find (third-person singular simple present finds, present participle finding, simple past found or (dialectal) fand, past participle found or (archaic) founden)

1. (transitive) To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     Searching the window for a flint, I found / This paper, thus sealed up.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Cowley

     In woods and forests thou art found.

2. (transitive) To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.

   I found my car keys. They were under the couch.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:

     I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.

   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant.

   • 2011 January 25, Paul Fletcher, “Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich (agg. 3-1)”, in BBC:

     Van Persie scored a hat-trick against Wigan on Saturday and should have found the net again after Bendtner found him at the far post but the Dutchman's header rebounded to safety off the crossbar.

   • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

     Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field. Dr Mincer and Dr Amaral-Zettler found evidence of them on their marine plastic, too.

3. (transitive) To discover by study or experiment direct to an object or end.

   Water is found to be a compound substance.

4. (transitive) To gain, as the object of desire or effort.

   to find leisure; to find means

5. (transitive) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire.

   Looks like he found a new vehicle for himself!

6. (transitive) To point out.

   He kept finding faults with my work.

7. (transitive) To decide that, to discover that, to form the opinion that.

   I find your argument unsatisfactory.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     I find you passing gentle.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Cowley

     The torrid zone is now found habitable.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎:

     “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes […] . And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”

8. (transitive) To arrive at, as a conclusion; to determine as true; to establish.

   to find a verdict; to find a true bill (of indictment) against an accused person

   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     to find his title with some shows of truth

9. (transitive, archaic) To supply; to furnish.

   to find food for workmen

10. (transitive, archaic) To provide for

    He finds his nephew in money.

    • (Can we date this quote?) London Times

      Wages £14 and all found.

    • (Can we date this quote?) Charles Dickens

      Nothing a day and find yourself.

11. (intransitive, law) To determine or judge.

    The jury finds for the defendant.

12. (intransitive, hunting) To discover game.
    • 1945, Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love, Penguin 2010, page 57:

      They found at once, and there was a short sharp run, during which Linda and Tony, both in a somewhat showing-off mood, rode side by side over the stone walls.

Noun

find (plural finds)

1. Anything that is found (usually valuable), as objects on an archeological site or a person with talent.
2. The act of finding.

Further reading

• find in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• find in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• NFID

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fend/, [fenˀ]

Verb

find

1. imperative of finde

Noun

find (plural findes)

1. Alternative form of feend