English
trover
Trover comes from Old French trover ‘to find’, and goes back to Vulgar Latin *tropāre.
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tropāre1‘find’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trover2‘to find’
- Englishearliest quotation 1749trover2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Old French trover
- 2 Wiktionary, English trover
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones: “The pocket-book was a late present from Mrs Western…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tropāreWiktionary, Old French trover‘find’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400troverWiktionary, English trover‘to find’
- Englishearliest quotation 1749troverWiktionary, English trover. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones: “The pocket-book was a late present from Mrs Western…”
The story
Nominal use of Old French trover (‘to find’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *trep- ‘to turn’
thrive, intrepid, trepidation, turpitude, 27 more
through Ancient Greek τρέπω ‘turn, divert, turn back, rout an enemy’
through Latin tropus ‘figurative use of a word’
through Vulgar Latin *tropāre ‘find’
through Old French trover ‘to find’
Today it means
noun Taking possession of personal property which has been found.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “trover”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French trover. 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 / Vulgar Latin *tropāre / trover