▪ I. find, n.
(faɪnd)
[f. next vb.]
1. An act or instance of finding; in hunting language, the finding of a fox, etc.; in wider use, a discovery, e.g. of minerals, treasure, archæological remains, etc. Somewhat colloq.
| 1825 Southey Let. 30 Aug. (1856) III. 498, I only hope 'twill fit the man that finds it. And a good find he had; for it [a hat] was a new one. 1852 W. Jerdan Autobiog. I. 157 The public, as fox-hunters say, shall have the benefit of the ‘find’. 1868 G. Stephens Runic Mon. I. 195 We need not despair of fresh finds. 1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 299 They realised the find of a fox. 1884 The American VII. 220 The Paris Figaro announces a ‘find’ of letters by Beaumarchais. 1887 R. Murray Geol. Victoria 159 The Frying-pan gold-field, where some good finds were made. |
2. a. concr. That which is found.
| 1847 in Halliwell. 1858 McCombie Hist. Victoria xv. 218 The great ‘finds’ of gold were..first discovered on the old Golden Point on Forest Creek. 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times i. (1869) 12 Bronze weapons are entirely absent from the great finds of the Iron Age. |
b. A person who is ‘discovered’ or brought to public notice; a valuable discovery. orig. U.S.
| 1890 Sporting Life (Phila.) 8 Jan. 7/1 As to Secretary Rogers' two ‘finds’, Day and Anderson, little can be said in their favor. 1914 R. Grau Theatre of Science 139 Miss Snow..must be set down as a Thanhouser ‘find’. 1915 Galsworthy Punch & Go, Miss Hellgrove's a find, I think. 1917 W. Owen Let. 14 Oct. (1967) 499 Graves was mightily impressed, and considers me a kind of Find!! |
3. a sure find; a. Sporting, a place where a ‘find’ is sure to be made; b. colloq. one who or something which is sure to be found.
| 1838 Thackeray Yellowplush Papers vii, His son was a sure find (as they say) during his illness. 1866 H. W. Wheelwright Sporting Sketches 335 There are certain..coverts which are sure finds. |
4. Comb., as find-place = find-spot; find-spot, the place of finding.
| 1939 Burlington Mag. Oct. p. vi/1 A map showing find-places and centres of manufacture. 1962 N. & Q. Dec. 450/2 Drake was unable to learn the exact find-place. 1971 E. Okasha Hand-list of Anglo-Saxon Non-Runic Inscr. 43 Find-place and date, where known, with brief details of the find. |
| 1876 J. Fergusson Indian Archit. i. vii. 170 note, He could only ascertain the ‘find spot’ of five or six [specimens]. 1938 Oxoniensia III. 49 Mortarium. Hard white ware, colour-washed. Find-spot unrecorded. Early second century. 1960 K. M. Kenyon Archæol. in Holy Land i. 33 The Samaria ostraca..provide limits for the reigns of the king to which they refer, but their find-spot was not accurately recorded with reference to the structural phases of the town. |
▪ II. find, v.
(faɪnd)
pa. tense and pple. found (faʊnd). Forms: α. 1. find-an, 2–4 find-en, 3–7 finde, fynd(e(n, 2–4 south. vinde, vynde, (2 fundan, 3 findin, feind, 5 fende, fyne, 9 dial. fine, Sc. and north. 3–9 fin, 4–5 fon(d), 3– find. β. 1 ᵹefindan, 2–3 ifinden, south. ivinden, 4 ifind, yfynde. pa. tense sing. α. 1 fand, also wk. form funde, 4 south. vand, 3–4 faand, 1–5 fond, (3–5 fonde, 3 south. vond, 4–5 foond, 3–5 fande, funde, 5 faunde, 6 fund), 3–6 founde, 5– found, (4 fon, funn, 5 fune, 5–8 Sc. fand, 9 dial. fan), β. 2–3 ȝe-, ifund(e, south. ivunde, 3 ifond, -nt. south. ivond, 5 yfonde, 3–5 i-, yfound(e. pl. 1 fundon, (2 fyndon), 2–4 -en, 3–7 founden, (4 found-, fundyn, 6 Sc. fundin), 4–5 fonden, 3–5 founde, 5– found, Sc. 4– fand, (9 dial. fant). β. 2–3 ifunden. pa. pple. α. 1–5 funden, (3 fundun), 4–6 founde, (4 fownde, 4–5 founden, fond(en, -in, -yn), 5– found; (also 4 fonte, 5 fon, 8 dial. fawnd, Sc. 4–6 fundin, -yn, 6 -ing, 4–9 fun, 9 fan, fund). β. 1 ᵹefunden, 3 ifonden, ifunde(n, 4 yfounde(n, south. yvonde.
[A Com. Teut. str. vb.: OE. findan (pa. tense fand, fǫnd, pl. fundon, pa. pple. funden) = OFris. finda, OS. findan, fîthan (MDu., Du. vinden), OHG. findan (MHG. vinden, mod.G. finden), ON. finna (Sw. finna, Da. finde), Goth. finþan, f. Teut. root *finþ-:—pre-Teut. *pent- whence OIrish étaim I find.
Some regard this pent- as a nasalized form (with an n originally belonging to the present stem only) of the root pet- of L. petĕre to seek, aim at. Others would identify it with the widely represented Indo-European root pent- (:pont-, pṇt-) to go, journey, whence OTeut. *fanþjon (OHG. fendo, OE. féða) footsoldier, pedestrian; on this supposition the development of sense is similar to that of L. invenīre to come upon, to find.
The OTeut. conjugation, finþan, fanþ-, fundum, fundono- (Goth. funþum, funþans are due to the analogy of the forms with þ), should by phonetic law have yielded OE. *f{iacu}ðan, *fóð, fundon, funden; as this would have been an apparently unique ablaut-series the vb. was naturally affected by the analogy of vbs. like bindan, grindan, windan. For the short forms fin, fan, fun (chiefly Sc.) and for the survival of fand as pa. tense cf. remarks on bind.]
I. To come upon by chance or in the course of events.
1. a. trans. To come across, fall in with, meet with, light upon. Primarily of persons, and implying perception of the object encountered; hence of things viewed as agents.
| Beowulf 2136 (Gr.) Ic..grundhyrde fond. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xiii. 38 Seo leo..Nimð eall ðæt hio fint. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 83 Þe sunne scineð þurh þe glesne ehþurl..and ho nimeð al swuch hou alse ho þer on vint. Ibid. 107 He mei findan fele þe beoð bet iþoȝen and istoȝen þene he. c 1205 Lay. 12303 Heo..iuunden þene king þær he wes an slæting. a 1300 Cursor M. 1183 (Cott.) Quen adam abel bodi fand For soru on fote moght he noght stand. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 631 Whoso for-gabbed a frere y-founden at þe stues. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 29 In þat ryuer er oft tymes funden many precious stanes. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 526 Men shold fynde in the worlde but fewe suche knyghtes as he is one. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. ii. heading, The sow with grisis..Eneas fand. 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxxv. (1682) 138 Which impels the water it findes in its way. 1705 Addison Italy Pref., Many new Subjects that a Traveller may find to employ himself upon. 1883 Century Mag. XXVI. 911/2 They might find traces of European sojourn on the island. |
| absol. 1340 Ayenb. 38 Yef þe vinst and naȝt ne yelst: þou hit stelst. 1611 Bible John xxi. 6 Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and yee shall find. |
b. with † obj. and inf.; or with obj. and compl.
| a 1000 Juliana 364 (Gr.) Ic hine finde ferð staðelian. c 1275 Pass. Our Lord 325 in O.E. Misc. 46 Þesne mon we funde vorbeoden vre lawe. c 1340 Cursor M. 6827 (Trin.) Þin enemyes beest þou fyndes o stray. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1798 Lucretia, Ryghte as a wolfe that fynt a lamb allone. c 1450 Merlin 4 He was founden dede. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 5517 Geue thare sall ony man, or wyue, That day be funding upon lyue. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 21, I..could not find her at hom. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 179 He has..been fun' lying in the middle of the road. |
c. To meet with in records. † Also absol.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 47 We uindeð in halie boc þet ieremie þe prophete stod..in þe uenne up to his muðe. a 1300 Cursor M. 356 (Cott.) Þis elementz þat al thinges bindes Four er þai, als clerkes findes. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7176 Als in som boke wryten es fonden. c 1400 Destr. Troy 13494 Fro the towne of Thessaile..Eght furlong, I fynd. 1678 Abp. Sancroft in D'Oyly Life (1821) II. 406 There we find the holy man in a great strait of affliction. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 415 ¶3 We find Semiramis leading her three Millions to the Field. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 34 In 1276, we find the Emperor and the King of England in constant communication. |
d. To come upon, begin acquaintance with or operation upon (any object), when it is in a specified condition; often contrasted with leave.
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 59 In the state thou it fand Thou shal it turne. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 133 He found that Colledge spending scarse two hundred markes by [the] yeare: he left it spending a thousand markes and more. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 179 Affliction never leaves us as it findes us. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 386 The morning finds the self-sequester'd man Fresh for his task. 1827 Examiner 481/1 They can only administer the law as they find the law. 1884 Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/6 That is the state of things we found established. |
2. a. To discover the whereabouts of (something hidden or not previously observed); sometimes with implied notion of picking up or carrying off. Cf. 9.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1878 Salamon findin is sal, And his temple sriðen wið-al. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 360 The multitude had fundin, bureid in the Kirk, a great number of idollis. 1656 Cowley Misc., Gold 11 A curse on him who found the Oare! Mod. I found a shilling on the floor. |
b. euphem. To steal. slang.
| 1865 T. Archer Pauper, Thief & Convict ii. 22 Too little moral restraint to go back to their miserable lodging with an empty stomach if they can ‘find’ anything that will procure them a meal. 1884 J. Greenwood Little Ragamuffins xvi. 139 Pinchin', findin', gleanin', some coves calls it. 1936 Punch 2 Dec. 640/1 Certain portions have been ‘found’ in the literal Army sense of the word, which is a polite way of describing petty theft. 1945 G. Millar Maquis viii. 155 He left in a rush and flurry on a brand-new woman's bicycle that he had ‘found’ in Besan{cced}on. |
3. a. To meet with, come to have, obtain, receive, get (chiefly, something desirable or needful). to find favour, grace, mercy: see the ns. to find one's account in (something): to receive advantage from (a course of action), to experience to be profitable (= Fr. trouver son compte).
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 1456 (Gr.) Heo..no..reste fand. c 1230 Hali Meid. 7 Swuch swetnesse þu schalt ifinden in his luue. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 106 Hir fredome fonde Arcyte. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 294 The worthie harberie that I haue fundin heir. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 380 b, What heresy [was ever] so absurde, that found not creditte..somewhere? 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. (1887) 169 Finding occasioune to win honour..blythlie he apprehendes it. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 1 But yet [it] findeth but cold intertainment in the world. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 231, I have always found my Account in such Method. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 369 Upon a petition preferred to the lord in his court baron the party grieved shall find remedy. 1781 Cowper Charity 557 No works shall find acceptance in that day. 1813 Macaulay Epitaph on Martyn, The Christian hero finds a Pagan tomb. 1853 F. W. Newman Odes of Horace Pref. 5, I..despair of finding readers among those who seek solely for amusement. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 Such commodities..found little market. |
| absol. 1611 Bible Job xxxiv. 11 He [shall]..cause euery man to finde according to his wayes. |
† b. with inf. as obj. Obs. rare.
| 1375 Cantic. de Creatione 851 in Anglia I, Þat y may fynden glad to be in al my lyf tyme ones. |
4. To gain or recover the use of (one's limbs, powers, etc.). to find one's feet: lit. of a child: To be able to stand; fig. to become conscious of or develop one's powers. Cf. feel v. 6 d.
| a 1535 More Wks. 1254 The bitch had founde the foote agayn: and on she came. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. i. 147 We must haue you finde your Legges. Sirrha Beadle, whippe him till he leape ouer that same Stoole. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xix. 438 They thought it high time for the Cow to find her horns. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 97 His [the Sun's] beams, unactive else, thir vigor find. 1673 Ess. Educ. Gentlewom. 26 Children..when they find their own feet, will not abide the tedium of a School. 1827 Keble Chr. Y. 23 Trin. xi, The groveling worm Shall find his wings. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey ii. 8 Olive was just beginning to find her feet. |
5. a. To discover or perceive on inspection or consideration; to perceive or recognize the presence of. Sometimes approximating to the sense of Fr. trouver: To consider (a quality, circumstance) to be present. to find fault: see fault n. 6.
| 1382 Wyclif Luke xxiii. 4, I fynde no thing of cause in this man. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 25 Euermare in þe middes of þam es funden þe figure of þe crosse. 1486 Bk. St. Albans E j b, Ther in fyndyn wee suche dyuersite. 1553 Wilson Rhet. (1580) Prol. A iv b, Malitious folke, that love to finde faults in other mennes matters. 1735 Berkeley Def. Free-thinking in Math. §30, I find no sense or reason in what you say. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 354 Nor did the world find anything ludicrous in the pomp which..surrounded him. |
b. with complement or infinitive.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 87 And cumeð þerto [the huse] and fint hit emti. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 870 On alle her forhedez wryten I fande, Þe lombez nome. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 522 Or we departye henne; al hool þou schalt me vynde. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1256 For he esteemt his faes defate, Quhen anes he fand them fald. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 34 When we fand our purses toom. 1879 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 292, I..find no scheme Content them both. |
c. refl. To perceive oneself to be in a specified place or position, or condition of body or mind. Also in weaker sense: To come to be (in the course of events). how do you find yourself? how are you? Cf. Fr. se trouver, Ger. sich befinden.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pard. Prol. 385 Who so fyndeth hym out of swich fame. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 26 Than fynt he hymself..More strong to performyn his journe. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn ii 14 Blanchardyn fonde hym self in aduyses wyth his mayster, walkynge wythin the paleys. 1600 Fairfax Tasso xv. lii. 277 On the mountaines top themselues they fand. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts 212 Do not ye find yourselves perplexed herein? 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xcv. 89 Pray, Sir, How d'ye Find your self? 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest xii, Tell me how you find yourself. 1816 J. Scott Vis. Paris 43 He was quite sure of finding himself comfortable. 1823 F. Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 21 We found ourselves opposed by a parapet of congealed snow. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xii. 183 Lavender found himself..entering a drawing-room. |
6. a. To discover, come to the knowledge of (a fact or state of things) by experience or trial. Const. with simple obj. (obs. rare), obj. and inf. or complement, or clause as obj. Also, in a more subjective sense (cf. Fr. trouver): To feel to be (agreeable, disagreeable, etc.), to consider or regard as (ridiculous, excellent, etc.).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 25180 (Cott.) Bot þat es man-hed mast o mede, be funden treu in ilk nede. c 1400 Rom. Rose 2707 They thee fande Curteis and wys. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 20 He has fun þam worþi to haue hym-self. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxx. 240 Ye shall fynde the mater other wyse then Gerarde his brother hath sayd. 1570 Buchanan Chamæleon Wks. (1892) 49 He fand to be trew in deid all yat he suspectit afoir. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1608) 596 Cadmus, not finding their return, went likewise to the same fountain. 1611 Bible Dan. v. 27 Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 1626 Bacon Sylva §22 We finde that Violets..yeeld a pleasing Sent. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 6 ¶2 He finds Rest more agreeable than Motion. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 83 (Character) How do you find the French? 1831 Keble Serm. v. (1848) 120 When his severe trials came..he was found wanting in some qualities. 1886 Manch. Exam. 27 Feb. 5/2 Deer forests have been found to pay better than sheep grazing. |
b. Often in phrases, to find (it) † fit, impossible, necessary, etc. to (do so and so).
| 1629 S'hertogenbosh 5 They found fit to build there the fourth chiefe Towne. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 16/2 Whatever contingent expenses you may find it necessary to disburse in Calcutta. 1879 B. Taylor Stud. Germ. Lit. 11 Hildebrand finds it impossible to decline the defiance. |
7. In certain senses of feel: † a. To suffer, undergo (punishment, pain) (obs.). b. To suffer from, feel unpleasantly (cold, etc.); now colloq. or dial.; also, to find of. c. To perceive (a smell, taste) (Sc.). Cf. also 16.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6295 (Gött.) Oft þai fand his wrake. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iii. 17 At the Cop of the Hille..Men may fynde no Wynde. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts 369 Before she findes the throwes of her travell. 1723 Present State Russia II. 24 We did not find the Cold..very sensibly. 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. II. 298 Henry found little uneasiness at Perkin's irruption. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 274 Do you fin' the smell o' burnin, sir. 1884 Jefferies Red Deer xiii. 154 Even those who are hardened to it find of the cold. |
† 8. = find out (20 c). Obs.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 5 Forleteð ȝure synne þat ȝe ne be ifunden on sunne. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 547 War þe now..In þe fylþe of þe flesch þat þou be founden neuer. a 1400 Octouian 229 Sche was founde with the dede. 1530 Palsgr. 550/1 Howe canste thou denye it, wast thou nat founde with the maner? 1611 Heywood Golden Age i. Wks. 1874 III. 19 This imposture neuer shall be found. 1692 Locke Educ. §124 The first time he is found in a Lye, it should rather be wondered at as a monstrous Thinge in him. 1741–3 Wesley Extract of Jrnl. (1749) 83 O, I find you, I find you! I know where you are. Is not your name Wesley? a 1774 Fergusson Election Poems (1845) 42 Had some laird his lady fand In sic unseemly courses. |
II. To discover or attain by search or effort.
9. a. To discover or obtain by searching.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 60 All ðiu somnung ᵹesohton leas witnessa wið ðonehælend..& ne fundon. c 1000 Ags. Ps. lxxvi. 16 [lxxvii. 19] (Gr.) Ne bið þær eðe þin spor on to findanne. a 1200 Moral Ode 243 in Trin. Coll. Hom. 227 Hie secheð reste þar non nis ac hie hies ne muȝen ifinden. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 60 Thar mycht succed na female, Quhill foundyn mycht be ony male. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 462 Herbes shal I ryght ynowe yfynde To hele with your hurtes. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 10 To write..For husbondry how water shal be fonde. 1553 Wilson Rhet. (1580) 98 Is his Lease long inough..Then..I will finde a hole in it I warrant thee. 1656 Cowley Friendsh. in Absence ix, A Bird..Finding at last no passage out, It sits and sings. 1785 Burns To W. Sampson xv, The Muse, nae Poet ever fand her, Till by himsel he learn'd to wander. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 534 The exiles..tried to find another leader. 1870 C. F. Gordon Cumming in Gd. Words 133/2 The slope [is] so rapid that you can scarcely find footing. |
| absol. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3190 He..hauen soȝt, And funden, and hauen up-broȝt ðe bones. 1340 Ayenb. 24 Clier wyt wel uor to understonde, and sotil wyt wel uor to vynde. 1382 Wyclif Matt. vii. 7 Seke ȝe, and ȝe shulen fynde. |
b. To discover (game) in hunting. Also absol.
| c 1420 Avow. Arth. xxxi, The bore brittunt thay funde Was colurt of the kingus hunde. 1486 Bk. St. Albans E v b, When she shall with houndes be foundyn and soght. 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus, Good hounds..open not but where they finde. 1848 A. Jameson Sacr. & Leg. Art (1850) 196 The dogs..found. 1883 Sherar At Home & in India 207 Lady Montego..heard the view hallo..They had found. |
c. To come again into view of, to recover (something lost).
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 48 Louerd..min heorte is icumen aȝein eft: ich hire habbe ifunden. a 1300 Cursor M. 4108 (Cott.) He went him forth and forþer soght Til he þam faand he finid noght. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 327 Now haf I fonte þat I for-lete. 1382 Wyclif Luke xv. 5 Whanne he hath founden it, he ioyinge puttith on his shuldris. c 1440 Generydes 53 He wyste not them [his knyghtes] to fynde. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 143 By aduenturing both [shafts] I oft found both. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 479 She disappeerd..I wak'd To find her, or for ever to deplore Her loss. 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. ix. (1809) 106, I..soon found the hounds again. |
d. fig. in phrase. to know where to find him, you, etc. So, † where may we find you?
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 153 Set downe your mynde whereunto you will stand, that we may know once where we may finde you. 1602 W. Watson Decacordon 147 Whereby father Parsons and his adherents did so square their actions, as neuer..any man liuing can tell where to find them. a 1626 Sclater On Rom. iv. (1650) 25 Versipelles! Where may we finde you? 1856 J. H. Newman Callista 61 He did not understand his nephew, or (to use a common phrase) know where to find him. |
e. refl. To discover and attain one's special place, power, or vocation.
| 1647 H. More Poems 294 [The soul] infinitely has fun Herself, her deep'st desire unspeakably hath wonne. 1889 Spectator 14 Dec. 839 Browning may be said almost to have found himself in the delight he had in reading other persons' souls. 1893 Academy 11 Mar. 222/1 It was as assistant to Bain that Minto found himself. |
f. Of a letter, etc.: to reach (a person); of an address: to be adequate to enable correspondence to reach (a person). Also † to find out (obs.).
| 1605 T. Matthew Let. 29 May in Mathew & Calthrop Life Sir T.M. (1907) iii. 45, I hope you will acquaint me with your mind, by letter, w{supc}{suph} w{supt}{suph} direction at Signore Thomaso Yonge,..will find me out. 1922 W. B. Yeats Let. 7 July (1954) v. 687, 82 Merrion Square will always find us. |
10. a. To succeed in obtaining (something needed or desired); to procure (money, bail, sureties, etc.). Cf. 18.
| 1552 Huloet, Finde suerties, vadio. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 110 Gif sic borgh may not be founden, he sall pas to the knawledge of ane assise. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 81 They find suretie to uthers, as accords of the law. 1821 Examiner 350/1 You shall find security for your good behaviour. 1868 Act 31–2 Vict. c. 54 §5 It shall not be necessary..to find Security for Expenses. |
b. To get or obtain (opportunity, time, etc.) by arrangement or management.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 330 Him nis no þing leouere þen þet he muwe ivinden ancheisun uorto ȝiuene. 1535 Coverdale Haggai i. 4 Ye youre selues can fynde tyme to dwell in syled houses. 1656 Cowley Imit. Martial's Epigr. 21 If we for Happiness could leisure finde. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 76 ¶3 He would find an Opportunity to take some favourable Notice of him. 1760 H. Walpole Corr. (ed. 3) III. ccclviii. 376, I just found a moment to write you a line. 1868 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 466 The volume had not been long in print before the king found time to read it. |
c. To summon up (courage, resolution, etc. to do something). to find in one's heart: to be inclined or desirous; to prevail upon oneself (to do something); in present use chiefly, to be hard-hearted enough. † to find one's countenance: to assume a certain demeanour.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 979 He..took a light, and fond his contenaunce As for to loke upon an old romaunce. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxx. 324 (Harl. MS.) He slepte..so savourly, þat þe preste ne non othir myȝt fynde in hire herte to wake him. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 26 They can not fynde in their hertes to loue the author therof. 1611 Bible 2 Sam. vii. 27 Therfore hath thy seruant found in his heart to pray this prayer vnto thee. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 27 ¶1 They..cannot find in their Hearts to relinquish it. 1861 Geo. Eliot Silas M. xiv. 255 Not as I could find i' my heart to let him stay i' the coal-hole more nor a minute. a 1897 Mod. At last he has found courage to speak. |
11. Of things: a. To obtain as if by effort. So to find expression, ingress, outlet, place, etc. Also occasionally, to have in a specified place.
| 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. ix, The billow..That far to seaward finds his source. 1813 H. & J. Smith Horace in London 90 Clouds..Which quickly find vent in a deluge of tears. 1819 Shelley Cenci v. iv. 99 The only ill which can find place Upon the giddy, sharp and narrow hour Tottering beneath us. 1860 W. F. Collier Gt. Events Hist. v. (1871) 173 The devotion of the people found vent chiefly in pilgrimages. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 696 An opening sufficient to enable the largest vessels to find ingress. |
b. To reach, arrive at as a destination.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xx. 8 Þi righthand fynd [L. inveniat] all þat has þe hated. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. iii. 72 The iron being..guided toward the stone, untill it find the newtrall point wherein its gravity just equalls the magneticall quality. 1801 Southey Thalaba vii. xx, Yet may a dagger find him. |
c. To come home to, take hold of, reach the understanding or conscience of.
| a 1834 Coleridge Conf. Inquiring Spirit i. (1840) 10 Whatever finds me, bears witness for itself that it has proceeded from a Holy Spirit. 1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. i. (1875) 37 As long as his new casting so fails more fully to commend itself, more fully (to use Coleridge's happy phrase about the Bible) to find us. 1891 Drummond in Pall Mall G. 17 Oct. 7/2 The books of which I have been speaking found me and taught me. |
12. a. To ascertain or attain by mental effort; to discover by study or attention.
| a 1000 Cynewulf's Christ 183 (Gollancz) Hu mæᵹ ic..andsware æniᵹe findan Wraþum to-wiþere. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 103 Eaðe mei þe mon fundan hu he hine seolf amerre. a 1250 Owl & Night. 705 Þe niȝtingale..hadde andsuere gode ifunde. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2371 Ac thai ne couthe nowt i-find, Whi th' emperour was blinde. 1481 Caxton Godfrey cxxxvii. 204 The duc..bad hym saye that he hath founden. 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 68 We may perauenture fynd some mean to restore our cuntrey. a 1631 Donne Poems (1650) 3 Teach me to..finde What winde Serves to advance an honest minde. 1678 Phillips, To Find the Ships Trim, a term in navigation to find how she will sail best. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 701 This Remedy the Scythian Shepherds found. 1812–6 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 481 We must rest contented with viewing the true figure of an object, without expecting to find its natural colour. |
b. to find religion (and similar phrases): to experience religious conversion.
| 1877 Independent 4 Jan. 11/3 He said that at least 200 boys had found Jesus in the Tabernacle. 1932 H. J. Laski Let. 21 Aug. in Holmes–Laski Lett. (1953) II. 1402 He..asked me in a loud voice..if I had found Christ. I said that I was..exempt from religious experience. 1957 J. S. Huxley Relig. without Revelation i. 22 If..we have in any true sense of the phrase, ‘found religion’, it means that we shall have so organised our minds that, for flashes at least, we attain to a sense of interpenetration with the reality around us. |
13. To ascertain by calculation; to get at or obtain (the solution of a problem).
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. Prol. 1 Conclusiouns that han ben fownde. c 1500 Lancelot 497 We have fundyne so. 1714 Whiston Euclid (ed. 3) iii. i, To find [Billingsley 1570 has To finde out] the Center of a given Circle. 1840 Lardner Geom. 141 We find the point B on the second parallel from OY at a certain distance above the fifth parallel from OX. |
14. to find one's way: primarily, to make out one's way by observation or inquiry; to contrive to reach one's destination. Hence in weaker sense, said of persons and things: To go or be brought to a place in spite of difficulties, or not quite as a matter of course.
| [a 1225 Ancr. R 66 Þe ueond..ivond wei touward hire of hire uorlorenesse. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3246, xii. weiȝes ðer-in..ðat euerilc kinde of israel Mai ðor his weiȝe finden wel. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 265 If thou wolt finde a siker weie To love, put envie awaye. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 889 Who would not, finding way, break loose from Hell?] 1746–7 Hervey Medit. (1818) 71 That fatal javelin..finds its way to the hearts of all the sons of Adam. 1803 J. Bristed Pedestrian Tour II. 655 Her cousins..had been bankrupted..and had found their way up to London. 1827 Examiner 792/2 English corn is finding its way into Holland. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. 11 A weak and sluggish river, which..scarcely finds its way to the sea. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest iv, Could you find your way home? 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 340 Notions which have found their way into the drama. |
† 15. To contrive, devise, invent; to discover (a scientific fact, etc.). Also with forth, up. Obs.
| O.E. Chron. an. 918 Se cyng hæfde funden, ðæt [etc.]. a 1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 199 Þet þu bringe þene Munuch to þire glednesse þet funde ðesne song bi ðe. a 1300 Cursor M. 1469 (Cott.) Enoch..was þe first þat letters fand. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 279 Tradicions founden vp of synful wrecchis. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 161 The first in thilke londe..whiche the melodie fonde Of reedes. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. iii, Famous Argus..fyrst that art yfonde. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 534 For this eende religiouns weren founde and foundid. c 1450 Henryson Mor. Fab. 77 At the last hee finds fourth a wyle. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 145 Many..have found suggestions..to bring this your realme into subversion. 1655–60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 106 About this time..Anaximander found the obliquity of the Zodiack. |
16. dial. To feel (a pulse); also intr. to feel, grope.
| 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 164 You wad hae fan' a pulse with æsculapian solemnity. 1892 Northumb. Gloss., It's that dark, aa'll he' to fin' for the sneck. |
17. Law. † a. intr. To determine. (Only in OE.)
| a 1000 Laws Alfred §18 in Thorpe Laws (1840) I. 72 Swa we ær be læwdum men fundon. |
b. † To determine and declare (an offence) to have been committed (obs.); to determine and declare (an issue) to be (so and so).
| 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 3 Pream., The seid offences..myght not..be punysshed except it were first founde and presented by the verdite of xij men. 1515 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 9 They saide he hanged himselfe, but it was fownde contrarie. 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. i. 5 The Crowner hath sate on her, and finds it Christian buriall. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxvii. (1739) 168 If it were found for the supposed Offender, he was bailed till the next coming of the Justices. 1675 C. Hatton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 121 Y⊇ crowner's inquest have found it only manslaughter. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1223 Judgment shall be given for defendant, although the issue be found against him. |
c. To determine and declare (a person) guilty or innocent.
| c 1400 Apol. Loll. 45 Þe Holi Goost, wan He comiþ, schal find þis world of dome. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 290 He will be found in his fault, that wantis foroutin weir. 1531–2 Act 23 Hen. VIII, c. 1 Anie personne..founde gyltie of any abbettement. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. i. 7 Is he found guilty? 1784 Cowper Task ii. 12 He finds his fellow guilty of a skin Not colour'd like his own. 1821 Examiner 544/1 The Jury found the defendants guilty. |
d. To agree upon and deliver, ‘bring in’ (a verdict). Also with obj. sentence introduced by that.
| 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 100 a, The Graund Assise ought by the law to finde that [etc.]. a 1657 Sir J. Balfour Ann. Scot. (1824–5) II. 58 The said courte..fand that the said edicte did no wayes extend towardes the subiectes of the kingdome of Scotland. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 37 The jury..found a verdict of guilty. 1888 Law Times LXXXV. 132/2 The jury at the trial found that the managing director..had ratified the contract. |
| absol. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 210 They would..inforce them to finde as they would direct. 1891 Law Times XC. 283/1 The jury..found for the plaintiff. |
e. To ascertain the validity of (an indictment, etc.). to find a (true) bill: see bill n.3 4.
| 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 10 Any office or offices found before Eschetour or Eschetours. 1534 Act 26 Hen. VIII, c. 2 An inditement of .xii. men lawfully founden. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. (1703) II. 99 This Indictment and Information was found by the Grand Jury. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. xxiii. 301 To find a bill, there must at least twelve of the [grand] jury agree. 1845 Stephen Laws Eng. II. 484 An indictment for treason..must be found within three years after the commission of the act of treason. |
III. 18. a. To procure (something) for the use of (somebody): with direct (or direct and indirect) obj.; to supply, provide, furnish. all found (also, chiefly U.S., simply found) (in regard to servants): with all customary articles of food, etc., provided.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 215 Wi sholdest þu þis finden þe noht ne fost þerof. a 1225 St. Marher. 20 Hwa so..makeð chapele oðer chirche oðer ifindeð in ham liht oðer lampe. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 297 Þat euere eyȝte hyde lond an man hym ssolde fynde. a 1300 Cursor M. 13277 (Cott.) Wit þair scipp þai fand þam fode. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1555 And euer more..Eterne fyr I wol bifore the fynde. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. xix. (1869) 82 He wolde that..here herkeners..founden hem here vitailes. 1543–4 Act 35 Hen. VIII, c. 11 §3 Boroughes..not findinge burgesses for the parliament. 1563 Richmond. Wills 167 My thre natural sonns..shalbe fownden meate and drynke. 1603 Johnson Kingd. & Commonw. 152 No more then every horseman [is accounted] a rider, or able to finde himselfe armour. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxxi. (1739) 192 For every Plough, every man should find two compleat Horses. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 253 The subscription was but ten shillings a year: Britton found the instruments. 1814 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 122 The hotels do not find breakfast. 1826 [see field-hand]. 1830 S. Smith Major Downing 13, I get 12 dollars a month and found. 1839 Dickens Nich. Nick. xii. 107 An annual salary of five pounds..and ‘found’ in food and lodging. 1853 B. F. Taylor Jan. & June (1871) 273 A story..he wouldn't have whispered for twelve dollars a month ‘and found’. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 662 The government required each county to find its quota of ships. 1884 Punch 8 Mar. 118/2 Wages {pstlg}18, all found but beer. 1923 ‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza iv. 48, I got him cheap for yuh. Three dollars and found. |
b. with immaterial object.
| 1664 Butler Hud. ii. ii. 386 Honour is like that glassy Bubble That finds Philosophers such trouble. 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. 254 The perpetration..of new crimes will find employment for us both. 1858 Buckle Civiliz. (1873) II. viii. 574 The forms of constitutional government they could bestow, but they could not find the traditions and the habits by which the forms were worked. |
19. a. To support, maintain, provide for (a person, rarely an institution). to find in: to supply with. † to find to school: to maintain at school.
[App. from 18 by conversion of indirect into direct obj.]
| 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 322 Nane..Wald do sa mekill for him, that he Mycht sufficiantly fundyn be. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 36 My frendes founden me to scole. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 59, I wole þee fynde til þou be oolde. a 1529 Skelton Replyc. 147 Exhibicyon Therewith to be founde At the universite. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 73 Condemned persons..are found by the king as long as they do liue. 1713 Steele Guardian No. 58 ¶3 The king of Sweden finds me in clean linen. 1795 Burke Thoughts Scarcity Wks. 1842 II. 249 Unless the labourer is well fed, and otherwise found with such necessaries of animal life. 1830 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) I. 212 Decline finding paupers in venison. 1857 R. Tomes Amer. in Japan viii. 183 Boatmen's wages are from one-and-a-half to two-and-a-quarter dollars per month, when found. |
b. So to find oneself: to provide for one's own living or needs. † Also said transf. of a war.
| c 1386 Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 9 Sche fond hirself. 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 346 Item, to ij. fellers of tymbre, and to fynde them selffes, viij.d. 1553 Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 24 b, Such poore..as haue not wherof to fynde themselues. 1585 Washington tr. Nicholay Voy. Turkie iii. iv. 76 b, They have..4 Aspres of pension by the day, but upon that they must fynde themselves. 1624 Bacon War with Spain (1629) 45 The war in continuance will finde it selfe. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxiii. 133 A certain pay to find himself withal, and to live upon. 1754 Fielding Voy. to Lisbon Wks. 1882 VII. 99 It was expected the passengers should find themselves in several things. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest vi, They..found themselves, as fowls can always do when they have a great range of ground to go over. |
† c. To serve to maintain. Obs.
| 1483 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 59 Of y⊇ wheet was so grete plente y{supt} it founde all y⊇ people..for thre yere. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 2 b, It is to be enquered..what maner of beestes or catell it [the medowe] is most necessary vnto, and howe many it wyll fynde. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. 429 He gave to every citizen as much wheate as would finde him three moneths. |
d. In Harrow School phraseology (see quot. 1905). Also as n. (see quot. 1881).
| 1881 M. J. Rendall in C. E. Pascoe Everyday Life in our Public Schools 210 In a large House there are usually four Sixth Form ‘finds’ (a Harrow term signifying a mess of three or four senior boys who take tea and breakfast in a room separate from the hall). 1889 Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang I. 362/2 To find, to mess together. 1905 H. A. Vachell Hill x. 218 You will find together. Of course Scaife can find with you, if you wish. Footnote. ‘Finding’ is the privilege, accorded to the Sixth Form, of having breakfast and tea served in their own rooms instead of in Hall. Ibid. xi. 244 They no longer shared No. 7..but they still ‘found’ together. |
IV. With adverbs.
20. find out. a. To discover by attention, scrutiny, study, etc.; to devise, invent; to unriddle, solve.
| 1552 Huloet, Finde out by studye, excudo. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 637 Johannes Fauscius..first found out the noble science of Imprintyng. 1611 Bible 2 Chron. ii. 14 A man of Tyre, skilfull to..find out euery deuice which shall be put to him. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 406 Who shall..through the palpable obscure find out His uncouth way. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 542 ¶1 Since the circulation of the blood has been found out. 1744 Harris Three Treat. ii. (1765) 363 note, They found out Laws. 1871 R. H. Hutton Ess. (1877) I. 38 It aims..at finding out how they may be really united. |
b. To come upon by searching or inquiry; to discover (what is hidden). Cf. 9.
| 1551 Wilson Logike (1580) 36 b, Thei..doe searche narrowlie..and..at lengthe finde out the Mine. 1611 Bible Job xi. 7 Canst thou by searching finde out God? 1625 Bacon Ess. Truth (Arb.) 499 The..Labour, which Men take in finding out of Truth. 1634 Herbert Trav. 217 A..proofe that Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd first found out that Continent now call'd America. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 308 ¶5, I was very much surprized..that any one should find out my Lodging. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vii. vii, As she is a woman of very great note, I shall easily find her out. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxiv, ‘Whenever Misticot's grave was fund out, the estate..should be lost.’ |
c. To detect in an offence; to detect, discover (a fraud, etc.); to penetrate the disguise of, discover the identity or true character of. Cf. 8.
| 1711 Steele Spect. No. 51 ¶7 If at the Catastrophe he were found out for a Traitor. 1741 Richardson Pamela I. 65 Pray don't reveal yourself till he finds you out. a 1853 Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. viii. 108 When once a man has found himself out he cannot be deceived again. 1883 Stubbs' Mercantile Circular 8 Nov. 982/2 The worthlessness of..clayed cottons is now being found out by the consumer. |
† d. To provide, supply. Obs.—1.
| a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 528 It was not possible for them to find out funds for so great an expense. |
e. absol. or intr. To make a discovery; to discover a fact, the truth, etc.; also with prep. about.
| 1862 G. Macdonald D. Elginbrod ii. ii, ‘I don't like the pigs—I don't know where they are.’ ‘Well, we must find out.’ 1881 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Senior Partner xxxi, ‘Who might that one be?’ ‘I am thinking ye'll have to find out for yourself.’ 1893 M. E. Mann In Summer Shade xix, ‘He has found out about Mrs. Le Grice's bill,’ said Lally to herself. 1894 B. Harraden Varying Moods 132 Perhaps death brings peace. I shall soon find out about that. 1913 W. M. Gallichan Like Stars that Fall xi, Supposing your husband found out? There might be a devil of a row. 1927 M. Sinclair Anthony Waring xviii, Tony determined to find out. Aunt or no aunt, he would go to her. |
21. find up. To discover by search.
Said to be ‘a Norfolkism’ (W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. II. 135). ‘Still common in Suffolk’ (F. Hall).
| [Cf. 1380 in 15 and 1430 in finder 1 c.] 1799 W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. I. 260 You have a mind..to find up ‘More Reliques of Rowley’. 1817 ― Monthly Mag. XLIV. 314 Jerom..found-up a Hebrew original of the first book of Maccabees. 1832 H. Martineau Each & All vii. 96, I am going into the depths of the city to find up a money lender. |