Dis·cov·er v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discovered p. pr. & vb. n. Discovering.]
 1. To uncover. [Obs.]
    Whether any man hath pulled down or discovered any church.   --Abp. Grindal.
 2. To disclose; to lay open to view; to make visible; to reveal; to make known; to show (what has been secret, unseen, or unknown). [Archaic]
 Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover
 The several caskets to this noble prince.   --Shak.
    Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue.   --Bacon.
    We will discover ourselves unto them.   --1 Sam. xiv. 8.
    Discover not a secret to another.   --Prov. xxv. 9.
 3. To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of a thing existing already, but not perceived or known; to find; to ascertain; to espy; to detect. [wns=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
    Some to discover islands far away.   --Shak.
 4. To manifest without design; to show.
    The youth discovered a taste for sculpture.   --C. J. Smith.
 5. To explore; to examine. [Obs.]
 Syn: -- To disclose; bring out; exhibit; show; manifest; reveal; communicate; impart; tell; espy; find; out; detect. -- To Discover, Invent. We discover what existed before, but remained unknown; we invent by forming combinations which are either entirely new, or which attain their end by means unknown before. Columbus discovered America; Newton discovered the law of gravitation; Whitney invented the cotton gin; Galileo invented the telescope.