Etymograph

English

discover

Discover comes from Middle English discoveren, from Old French descovrir ‘to uncover’, from Late Latin discoperīre, from Latin discooperiō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcooperiō1‘to cover’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscooperiō1‘to uncover’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiscoperīre1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400descovrir1‘to uncover’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500discoveren1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485discover1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English discover
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1470–1485, Capitulum ix: “they seyde the same, and were aggreed that Sir…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcooperiōWiktionary, English discover‘to cover’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscooperiōWiktionary, English discover‘to uncover’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiscoperīreWiktionary, English discover
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400descovrirWiktionary, English discover‘to uncover’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500discoverenWiktionary, English discover
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485discoverWiktionary, English discover. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1470–1485, Capitulum ix: “they seyde the same, and were aggreed that Sir…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with discover, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Italic *dis-

11 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To find or learn something for the first time.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “discover”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin cooperiō / discover