invent

invent
\ \ [15] Invent originally meant ‘find’ (‘Since that Eve was procreated out of Adam’s side, could not such newels [novelties] in this land be invented’, wrote the anonymous author of a 15th-century song). It was based on invent-, the past participial stem of Latin invenīrecome upon, find’, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘on’ and venīrecome’. The sense ‘devise’, which developed via ‘discover’, actually existed in the Latin verb, but English did not take it on board until the 16th century.
\ \ The derivative inventory [16] was borrowed from medieval Latin inventōriumlist’, an alteration of late Latin inventārium, which originally meant a ‘finding out’, hence an ‘enumeration’.
\ \ Cf.ADVENTURE, INVENTORY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Invent — In*vent , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Invented}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Inventing}.] [L. inventus, p. p. of invenire to come upon, to find, invent; pref. in in + venire to come, akin to E. come: cf. F. inventer. See {Come}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To come or light …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • invent — 1 *contrive, devise, frame, concoct Analogous words: initiate, inaugurate (see BEGIN): institute, *found, establish 2 Invent, create, discover are comparable terms frequently confused in the sense of to bring into being something new. Invent (see …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • invent — in‧vent [ɪnˈvent] verb [transitive] 1. to make, design or produce something new or a new way of doing something: • Percy Spencer invented the microwave oven. • Mr. Monaghan virtually invented the modern pizza delivery business when he founded… …   Financial and business terms

  • invent — in·vent vt: to create or produce for the first time in·ven·tor n Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. invent …   Law dictionary

  • invent — [v1] create, think up ad lib, author, bear, bring into being, coin, come upon, come up with, compose, conceive, contrive, cook up*, design, devise, discover, dream up, envision, execute, fake, fashion, find, forge, form, formulate, frame, hatch,… …   New thesaurus

  • invent — [in vent′] vt. [ME inventen < L inventus, pp. of invenire, to come upon, meet with, discover < in , in, on + venire, to COME] 1. to think up; devise or fabricate in the mind [to invent excuses] 2. to think out or produce (a new device,… …   English World dictionary

  • invent — (v.) late 15c., find, discover, a back formation from invention or else from L. inventus, pp. of invenire “to come upon; devise, discover” (see INVENTION (Cf. invention)). Meaning make up, think up is from 1530s, as is that of produce by… …   Etymology dictionary

  • invent — ► VERB 1) create or design (a new device, process, etc.). 2) make up (a false story, name, etc.). DERIVATIVES inventor noun. ORIGIN Latin invenire contrive, discover …   English terms dictionary

  • invent */*/ — UK [ɪnˈvent] / US verb [transitive] Word forms invent : present tense I/you/we/they invent he/she/it invents present participle inventing past tense invented past participle invented Collocations: If you are the first person to make a new type of …   English dictionary

  • invent — inventible, inventable, adj. /in vent /, v.t. 1. to originate or create as a product of one s own ingenuity, experimentation, or contrivance: to invent the telegraph. 2. to produce or create with the imagination: to invent a story. 3. to make up… …   Universalium

  • invent — [[t]ɪnve̱nt[/t]] invents, inventing, invented 1) VERB If you invent something such as a machine or process, you are the first person to think of it or make it. [V n] He invented the first electric clock... [V n] Writing had not been invented as… …   English dictionary

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