Wiktionary

find

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English finden, from Old English findan, from Proto-West Germanic *finþan, from Proto-Germanic *finþaną, a secondary verb from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, pass; path bridge”).

See also West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Norwegian Bokmål finne, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish finna; also English path, Old Irish étain (“I find”), áitt (“place”), Latin pōns (“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “sea”), Old Armenian հուն (hun, “ford”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬃 (paṇtā̊), Sanskrit पथ (pathá, “path”), Proto-Slavic *pǫtь.

For the meaning development compare Proto-Slavic *najьti > Russian найти́ (najtí), akin to Proto-Slavic *jьti > идти́ (idtí); Russian находи́ть (naxodítʹ), нахо́дка (naxódka), akin to ход (xod), ходи́ть (xodítʹ).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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"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 (dialectal) fand or (archaic) founden)

  1. To locate
    1. (transitive) To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
      I found this shell on the beach.
      She arrived home to find that the house had gone up in flames.
    2. (transitive) To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.
      I found my car keys. They were under the couch.
      I went looking for you in the bed we share, but tonight I found you not there.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        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.
      • 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. (ditransitive) To locate on behalf of another.
      I found you a new place to live
  2. (ditransitive) To discover by study or experiment directed to an object or end.
    Water is found to be a compound substance.
    The researchers found the two variables to be strongly correlated.
  3. (transitive) To gain, as the object of desire or effort.
    to find leisure; to find means
  4. (transitive) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire.
    Looks like he found a new vehicle for himself!
  5. (transitive) To meet with; to receive.
    The proposal found little support within the government.
    • 1951 March, J. H. Lehmann, A. D. Johnson, W. C. Bridges, J. Michel, D. M. Green, “Cardiac Catheterization—A Diagnostic Aid in Congenital Heart Disease”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 170:
      Among newer procedures, the Robb and Steinberg contrast visualization of cardiac chambers and venous catheterization of the right heart have found the broadest study and application.
  6. (transitive) To point out.
    He kept finding faults with my work.
  7. (ditransitive) To decide that, to conclude that, to form the opinion that, to consider.
    I find your argument unsatisfactory.
    I found it strange {sleeping - to sleep} in your house last night.
  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
  9. (transitive, archaic) To supply; to furnish.
    to find food for workmen
  10. (transitive, archaic) To provide for
    He finds his nephew in money.
    • 1871, Charles Kingsley, “Port of Spain”, in At Last: A Christmas in the West Indies. […], volume I, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 135:
      They stand idle in the market-place, not because they have not been hired, but because they do not want to be hired; being able to live like the Lazzaroni of Naples, on "Midshipman's half-pay—nothing a day, and find yourself."
    • 1892, W. E. Swanton, Notes on New Zealand:
      the pay is good, the musterer receiving ten shillings a day, and all found, all the time he is engaged on the "run," even should he be compelled to remain idle on account of rain or mist.
  11. (intransitive, law) To determine or judge.
    The jury finds for the defendant.
  12. (transitive, ball games) To successfully pass to or shoot the ball into.
    Peters finds Jinkins, who is running down the left wing.
    • 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.
  13. (intransitive, hunting) To discover game.
    • 1945, Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love, Penguin, published 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.

Conjugation

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Conjugation of find
infinitive (to) find
present tense past tense
1st-person singular find found, fand1
2nd-person singular find, findest† found, fand1, foundest†
3rd-person singular finds, findeth† found, fand1
plural find
subjunctive find found, fand1
imperative find —
participles finding found, founden†

† Archaic or obsolete. 1 Dialectal.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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See also finding and found

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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find (plural finds)

  1. Anything that is found (usually valuable), as objects on an archeological site or a person with talent.
    • 2001, Chün-fang Yü, “Feminine Forms of Kuan-yin in Late Imperial China”, in Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara‎[1], New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 409:
      One of the most exciting finds made by Chinese archaeologists within the last twenty years are the sites located in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning Province, particularly the Neolithic Hung-shan culture (c. 3500-2500 B.C.E.).
    • 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Alarei:
      Shepard: How did you get these things to your father?
      Tali: Sometimes I left packages at secure drops in civilized areas. Someone on Pilgrimage would see that it was shipped home.
      Tali: For very valuable finds, I'd signal home, and Father would send a small ship.
  2. The act of finding.
    (Can we add an example for this sense? )

Synonyms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Danish

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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find

  1. imperative of finde

Middle English

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Noun

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find (findes)

  1. alternative form of fend

Old English

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Verb

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find

  1. imperative singular of findan

Old Irish

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Alternative forms

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  • finn (both etymologies)

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɸʲin̪d̪/ (nominative singular, genitive plural, non-feminine accusative and dative singular, non-masculine vocative singular)
  • IPA(key): /ˈɸʲin̠ʲd̠ʲ/ (genitive singular, feminine accusative and dative singular, masculine nominative plural)

Etymology 1

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    From Proto-Celtic *windos (“white”) (compare Welsh gwyn, Gaulish *windos).

    Adjective

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    find

    1. white
    2. bright
    3. blessed
    Declension
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    o/ā-stem
    singular masculine feminine neuter
    nominative find find find
    vocative find
    accusative find find
    genitive find finde find
    dative find find find
    plural masculine feminine/neuter
    nominative find finda
    vocative findu
    finda†
    accusative findu
    finda†
    genitive find
    dative findaib

    † not when substantivized

    Descendants
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    • Middle Irish: finn
      • Irish: fionn
      • Manx: fynn
      • Scottish Gaelic: fionn

    Further reading

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    Etymology 2

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      From Proto-Celtic *wendom (“hair”).

      Noun

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      find n

      1. hair
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      Descendants
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      Further reading

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      Mutation

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      Mutation of find
      radical lenition nasalization
      find ḟind find
      pronounced with /β̃ʲ-/

      Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
      All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

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