Word Finder - discovery

definition

Something discovered.

example

This latest discovery should eventually lead to much better treatments for disease.

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The discovering of new things.

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Automatic discovery of RSS feeds by a Web browser.

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An act of uncovering or revealing something; a revelation.

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A pre-trial phase in which evidence is gathered.

example

The prosecution moved to suppress certain items turned up during discovery.

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Materials revealed to the opposing party during the pre-trial phase in which evidence is gathered.

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The defense argued that the plaintiff's discovery was inadequate.

This discovery excited him.

She stared at the discovery in her hands.

This was an electrifying discovery to the whole world.

Dean considered mentioning Martha's discovery of bones but decided not trespass on Jake Weller's vacation.

The last straw that determined action was the discovery of a paper docketed " Not to be opened till after my death," which was nothing but a railing accusation against herself.

Man has invented, not only houses, but clothes and cooked food; and possibly from the accidental discovery of the warmth of fire, and the consequent use of it, at first a luxury, arose the present necessity to sit by it.

It should have been an exciting discovery.

He sheathed his weapons, grim at the discovery.

Were you pleased by our rather gruesome discovery?

After her discovery in the forest, Jenn wasn't certain what to believe.

It was on one of those occasions that Lisa made her first perplexing discovery.

Vico may have derived from Grotius the idea of natural law; but his discovery of the historic evolution of law was first suggested to him by his study of Roman law.

But Dean's denial of Cynthia's implication appeared well founded given her reaction to the discovery of the body in Norfolk.

The beginning of the 19th century witnessed the discovery of certain powerful methods for the analysis of compounds and the isolation of elements.

But he joined with his brother Richard and the French king Philip Augustus in the great conspiracy of 1189, and the discovery of his treason broke the heart of the old king (see Henry Ii.).

During the same year in which De Torres sailed through the strait destined to make him famous, a little Dutch vessel called the " Duyfken," or " Dove," set sail from Bantam, in Java, on a voyage of discovery.

The discovery of boron by Gay Lussac and Davy in 1809 led Berzelius to investigate silica (silex).

The oxychloride, bromides, and other compounds were subsequently discovered; here we need only notice Moissan's preparation of the trifluoride and Thorpe's discovery of the pentafluoride, a compound of especial note, for it volatilizes unchanged, giving a vapour of normal density and so demonstrating the stability of a pentavalent phosphorus compound (the pentachloride and pentabromide dissociate into a molecule of the halogen element and phosphorus trichoride).

Experiments bearing on this subject were subsequently made by a great number of investigators.4 Page's discovery is of considerable importance in connexion with the theory of action of various forms of telephone, and was a very important feature in the early attempts by Reis to transit music and speech.

The discovery of a single fossil creature in a geological stratum of a wrong period, the detection of a single anatomical or physiological fact irreconcilable with origin by descent with modification, would have been destructive of the theory and would have made the reputation of the observer.

Till recently the aye-aye was regarded as representing a family by itself - the Chiromyidae; but the discovery that it resembles the other lemurs of Madagascar in the structure of the inner ear, and thus differs from all other members of the group, has led to the conclusion that it is best classed as a subfamily (Chiromyidae) of the Lemuridae.

His researches on sebacic acid (1802) and on bile (1807), and his discovery of peroxide of hydrogen (1818) also deserve mention.

At the least there should be some consideration of four separate systems of discovery - the Eastern, in which Chinese and Japanese explorers acquired knowledge of the geography of Asia, and felt their way towards Europe and America; the Western, in which the dominant races of the Mexican and South American plateaus extended their knowledge of the American continent before Columbus; the Polynesian, in which the conquering races of the Pacific Islands found their way from group to group; and the Mediterranean.

The hieroglyphic inscriptions of Egypt and the cuneiform inscriptions of Assyria are rich in records of the movements and achievements of armies, the conquest of towns and the subjugation of peoples; but though many of the recorded sites have been identified, their discovery by wandering armies was isolated from their subsequent history and need not concern us here.

The Phoenicians are the earliest Mediterranean people in the consecutive chain of geographical discovery which joins prehistoric time with the present.

The most celebrated voyage of antiquity undertaken for the express purpose of discovery was that fitted out by the senate of Carthage under the command of Hanno, with the intention of founding new colonies along the west coast of Africa.

This was one of the few great epochs of geographical discovery.

The world was henceforth viewed as a very large place stretching far on every side beyond the Midland or Mediterranean Sea, and the land journey of Alexander resulted in a voyage of discovery in the outer ocean from the mouth of the Indus to that of the Tigris, thus opening direct intercourse between Grecian and Hindu civilization.

The conqueror also intended to open up trade by sea between Europe and India, and the narrative of his general Nearchus records this famous voyage of discovery, the detailed accounts of the chief pilot Onesicritus being lost.

After two successful voyages, Eudoxus, impressed with the idea that Africa was surrounded by ocean on the south, left the Egyptian service, and proceeded to Cadiz and other Mediterranean centres of trade seeking a patron who would finance an expedition for the purpose of African discovery; and we learn from Strabo that the veteran explorer made at least two voyages southward along the coast of Africa.

But it was the military genius of Rome, and the ambition for universal empire, which led, not only to the discovery, but also to the survey of nearly all Europe, and of large tracts in Asia and Africa.

As things were, the importance of this discovery passed unrecognized.

In the 15th century the time was approaching when the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope was to widen the scope of geographical enterprise.

The great westward projection of the coast of Africa, and the islands to the north-west of that continent, were the principal scene of the work of the mariners sent out at his expense; but his object was to push onward and reach India from the Atlantic. The progress of discovery received a check on his death, but only for a time.

The voyages of Columbus (1492-1498) resulted in the discovery of the West Indies and North America which barred the way to the Far East.

The direct line of Portuguese exploration resulted in the discovery of the Cape route to India by Vasco da Gama (1498), and in 1500 to the independent discovery of South America by Pedro Alvarez Cabral.

This commerce was a great source of wealth to Venice; but after the discovery of the new passage round the Cape, and the conquests of the Portuguese, the trade of the East passed into other hands.

The discoveries of Columbus awakened a spirit of enterprise in Spain which continued in full force for a century; adventurers flocked eagerly across the Atlantic, and discovery followed Sp aniards discovery in rapid succession.

Vasco Nunez, the new commander, entered upon a career of conquest in the neighbourhood of Darien, which ended in the discovery of the Pacific Ocean on the 25th of September 1513.

Hernan Cortes overran and conquered Mexico from 1518 to 1521, and the discovery and conquest of Guatemala by Alvarado, the invasion of Florida by De Soto, and of Nueva Granada by Quesada, followed in rapid succession.

At his suggestion a voyage was undertaken for the discovery of a north-east passage to Cathay, with Sir Hugh Willoughby as captain-general of the fleet and Richard Chancellor as pilotmajor.

Reaching the Pacific through the Strait of Magellan, Drake proceeded northward along the west coast of America, resolved to attempt the discovery of a northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The coast from the southern extremity of the Californian peninsula to Cape Mendocino had been discovered by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and Francisco de Ulloa in 1539.

This discovery was not accidental or unforeseen, but was due to the sagacity of those who designed the voyage.

In 1642 the governor and council of Batavia fitted out two ships to prosecute the discovery of the south land, then believed to be part of a vast Antarctic continent, and entrusted the command to Captain Abel Jansen Tasman.

The British and French governments despatched several expeditions of discovery into the Pacific and round the world during the 18th century.

Dampier's literary ability eventually secured for him a commission in the king's service; and he was sent on a voyage of discovery, during which he explored part of the coasts of Australia and New Guinea, and discovered the strait which bears his name between New Guinea and New Britain, returning in 1701.

In 1764 Byron himself was sent on a voyage of discovery round the world, which led immediately after his return to the despatch of another to complete his work, under the command of Captain Samuel Wallis.

The three voyages of Captain James Cook form an era in the history of geographical discovery.

The " Resolution " and " Discovery " sailed in 1776, and Cook again took the route by the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1785 the French government carefully fitted out an expedition of discovery at Brest, which was placed under the command of Francois La Perouse, an accomplished and experienced officer.