| 释义 |
▪ 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.
1825Southey 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. 1852W. Jerdan Autobiog. I. 157 The public, as fox-hunters say, shall have the benefit of the ‘find’. 1868G. Stephens Runic Mon. I. 195 We need not despair of fresh finds. 1883E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 299 They realised the find of a fox. 1884The American VII. 220 The Paris Figaro announces a ‘find’ of letters by Beaumarchais. 1887R. Murray Geol. Victoria 159 The Frying-pan gold-field, where some good finds were made.
2. a. concr. That which is found.
1847in Halliwell. 1858McCombie Hist. Victoria xv. 218 The great ‘finds’ of gold were..first discovered on the old Golden Point on Forest Creek. 1865Lubbock 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.
1890Sporting Life (Phila.) 8 Jan. 7/1 As to Secretary Rogers' two ‘finds’, Day and Anderson, little can be said in their favor. 1914R. Grau Theatre of Science 139 Miss Snow..must be set down as a Thanhouser ‘find’. 1915Galsworthy Punch & Go, Miss Hellgrove's a find, I think. 1917W. 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.
1838Thackeray Yellowplush Papers vii, His son was a sure find (as they say) during his illness. 1866H. 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.
1939Burlington Mag. Oct. p. vi/1 A map showing find-places and centres of manufacture. 1962N. & Q. Dec. 450/2 Drake was unable to learn the exact find-place. 1971E. Okasha Hand-list of Anglo-Saxon Non-Runic Inscr. 43 Find-place and date, where known, with brief details of the find.
1876J. Fergusson Indian Archit. i. vii. 170 note, He could only ascertain the ‘find spot’ of five or six [specimens]. 1938Oxoniensia III. 49 Mortarium. Hard white ware, colour-washed. Find-spot unrecorded. Early second century. 1960K. 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. *fíðan, *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. a1000Boeth. Metr. xiii. 38 Seo leo..Nimð eall ðæt hio fint. c1175Lamb. 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. c1205Lay. 12303 Heo..iuunden þene king þær he wes an slæting. a1300Cursor M. 1183 (Cott.) Quen adam abel bodi fand For soru on fote moght he noght stand. c1394P. Pl. Crede 631 Whoso for-gabbed a frere y-founden at þe stues. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 29 In þat ryuer er oft tymes funden many precious stanes. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 526 Men shold fynde in the worlde but fewe suche knyghtes as he is one. 1513Douglas æneis viii. ii. heading, The sow with grisis..Eneas fand. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxxv. (1682) 138 Which impels the water it findes in its way. 1705Addison Italy Pref., Many new Subjects that a Traveller may find to employ himself upon. 1883Century Mag. XXVI. 911/2 They might find traces of European sojourn on the island.
absol.1340Ayenb. 38 Yef þe vinst and naȝt ne yelst: þou hit stelst. 1611Bible 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.
a1000Juliana 364 (Gr.) Ic hine finde ferð staðelian. c1275Pass. Our Lord 325 in O.E. Misc. 46 Þesne mon we funde vorbeoden vre lawe. c1340Cursor M. 6827 (Trin.) Þin enemyes beest þou fyndes o stray. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1798 Lucretia, Ryghte as a wolfe that fynt a lamb allone. c1450Merlin 4 He was founden dede. 1552Lyndesay Monarche 5517 Geue thare sall ony man, or wyue, That day be funding upon lyue. 1670Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 21, I..could not find her at hom. 1826J. 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.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 47 We uindeð in halie boc þet ieremie þe prophete stod..in þe uenne up to his muðe. a1300Cursor M. 356 (Cott.) Þis elementz þat al thinges bindes Four er þai, als clerkes findes. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 7176 Als in som boke wryten es fonden. c1400Destr. Troy 13494 Fro the towne of Thessaile..Eght furlong, I fynd. 1678Abp. Sancroft in D'Oyly Life (1821) II. 406 There we find the holy man in a great strait of affliction. 1712Addison Spect. No. 415 ⁋3 We find Semiramis leading her three Millions to the Field. 1861M. 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.
c1460Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 59 In the state thou it fand Thou shal it turne. a1568R. 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. a1656Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 179 Affliction never leaves us as it findes us. 1784Cowper Task iii. 386 The morning finds the self-sequester'd man Fresh for his task. 1827Examiner 481/1 They can only administer the law as they find the law. 1884Gladstone 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.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 1878 Salamon findin is sal, And his temple sriðen wið-al. a1572Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 360 The multitude had fundin, bureid in the Kirk, a great number of idollis. 1656Cowley Misc., Gold 11 A curse on him who found the Oare! Mod. I found a shilling on the floor.
b. euphem. To steal. slang.
1865T. 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. 1884J. Greenwood Little Ragamuffins xvi. 139 Pinchin', findin', gleanin', some coves calls it. 1936Punch 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. 1945G. Millar Maquis viii. 155 He left in a rush and flurry on a brand-new woman's bicycle that he had ‘found’ in Besançon.
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).
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 1456 (Gr.) Heo..no..reste fand. c1230Hali Meid. 7 Swuch swetnesse þu schalt ifinden in his luue. c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 106 Hir fredome fonde Arcyte. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 294 The worthie harberie that I haue fundin heir. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 380 b, What heresy [was ever] so absurde, that found not creditte..somewhere? 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. (1887) 169 Finding occasioune to win honour..blythlie he apprehendes it. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. 1 But yet [it] findeth but cold intertainment in the world. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 231, I have always found my Account in such Method. 1767Blackstone Comm. II. 369 Upon a petition preferred to the lord in his court baron the party grieved shall find remedy. 1781Cowper Charity 557 No works shall find acceptance in that day. 1813Macaulay Epitaph on Martyn, The Christian hero finds a Pagan tomb. 1853F. W. Newman Odes of Horace Pref. 5, I..despair of finding readers among those who seek solely for amusement. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 Such commodities..found little market.
absol.1611Bible Job xxxiv. 11 He [shall]..cause euery man to finde according to his wayes.
†b. with inf. as obj. Obs. rare.
1375Cantic. 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.
a1535More Wks. 1254 The bitch had founde the foote agayn: and on she came. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. i. 147 We must haue you finde your Legges. Sirrha Beadle, whippe him till he leape ouer that same Stoole. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xix. 438 They thought it high time for the Cow to find her horns. 1667Milton P.L. viii. 97 His [the Sun's] beams, unactive else, thir vigor find. 1673Ess. Educ. Gentlewom. 26 Children..when they find their own feet, will not abide the tedium of a School. 1827Keble Chr. Y. 23 Trin. xi, The groveling worm Shall find his wings. 1868Holme 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.
1382Wyclif Luke xxiii. 4, I fynde no thing of cause in this man. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 25 Euermare in þe middes of þam es funden þe figure of þe crosse. 1486Bk. St. Albans E j b, Ther in fyndyn wee suche dyuersite. 1553Wilson Rhet. (1580) Prol. A iv b, Malitious folke, that love to finde faults in other mennes matters. 1735Berkeley Def. Free-thinking in Math. §30, I find no sense or reason in what you say. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 354 Nor did the world find anything ludicrous in the pomp which..surrounded him.
b. with complement or infinitive.
c1200Trin. 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. c1380Sir Ferumb. 522 Or we departye henne; al hool þou schalt me vynde. 1597Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1256 For he esteemt his faes defate, Quhen anes he fand them fald. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 34 When we fand our purses toom. 1879Geo. 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.
c1386Chaucer Pard. Prol. 385 Who so fyndeth hym out of swich fame. 1447O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 26 Than fynt he hymself..More strong to performyn his journe. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn ii 14 Blanchardyn fonde hym self in aduyses wyth his mayster, walkynge wythin the paleys. 1600Fairfax Tasso xv. lii. 277 On the mountaines top themselues they fand. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts 212 Do not ye find yourselves perplexed herein? 1692R. L'Estrange Fables xcv. 89 Pray, Sir, How d'ye Find your self? 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest xii, Tell me how you find yourself. 1816J. Scott Vis. Paris 43 He was quite sure of finding himself comfortable. 1823F. Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 21 We found ourselves opposed by a parapet of congealed snow. 1873Black 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.).
a1300Cursor M. 25180 (Cott.) Bot þat es man-hed mast o mede, be funden treu in ilk nede. c1400Rom. Rose 2707 They thee fande Curteis and wys. 1435Misyn Fire of Love 20 He has fun þam worþi to haue hym-self. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxx. 240 Ye shall fynde the mater other wyse then Gerarde his brother hath sayd. 1570Buchanan Chamæleon Wks. (1892) 49 He fand to be trew in deid all yat he suspectit afoir. 1607Topsell Serpents (1608) 596 Cadmus, not finding their return, went likewise to the same fountain. 1611Bible Dan. v. 27 Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 1626Bacon Sylva §22 We finde that Violets..yeeld a pleasing Sent. 1711Steele Spect. No. 6 ⁋2 He finds Rest more agreeable than Motion. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 83 (Character) How do you find the French? 1831Keble Serm. v. (1848) 120 When his severe trials came..he was found wanting in some qualities. 1886Manch. 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).
1629S'hertogenbosh 5 They found fit to build there the fourth chiefe Towne. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 16/2 Whatever contingent expenses you may find it necessary to disburse in Calcutta. 1879B. 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.
a1300Cursor M. 6295 (Gött.) Oft þai fand his wrake. c1400Mandeville (1839) iii. 17 At the Cop of the Hille..Men may fynde no Wynde. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts 369 Before she findes the throwes of her travell. 1723Present State Russia II. 24 We did not find the Cold..very sensibly. 1771Goldsm. Hist. Eng. II. 298 Henry found little uneasiness at Perkin's irruption. 1826J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 274 Do you fin' the smell o' burnin, sir. 1884Jefferies Red Deer xiii. 154 Even those who are hardened to it find of the cold.
†8. = find out (20 c). Obs.
c1200Trin. 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. a1400Octouian 229 Sche was founde with the dede. 1530Palsgr. 550/1 Howe canste thou denye it, wast thou nat founde with the maner? 1611Heywood Golden Age i. Wks. 1874 III. 19 This imposture neuer shall be found. 1692Locke Educ. §124 The first time he is found in a Lye, it should rather be wondered at as a monstrous Thinge in him. 1741–3Wesley Extract of Jrnl. (1749) 83 O, I find you, I find you! I know where you are. Is not your name Wesley? a1774Fergusson 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.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 60 All ðiu somnung ᵹesohton leas witnessa wið ðonehælend..& ne fundon. c1000Ags. Ps. lxxvi. 16 [lxxvii. 19] (Gr.) Ne bið þær eðe þin spor on to findanne. a1200Moral Ode 243 in Trin. Coll. Hom. 227 Hie secheð reste þar non nis ac hie hies ne muȝen ifinden. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 60 Thar mycht succed na female, Quhill foundyn mycht be ony male. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 462 Herbes shal I ryght ynowe yfynde To hele with your hurtes. c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 10 To write..For husbondry how water shal be fonde. 1553Wilson Rhet. (1580) 98 Is his Lease long inough..Then..I will finde a hole in it I warrant thee. 1656Cowley Friendsh. in Absence ix, A Bird..Finding at last no passage out, It sits and sings. 1785Burns To W. Sampson xv, The Muse, nae Poet ever fand her, Till by himsel he learn'd to wander. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 534 The exiles..tried to find another leader. 1870C. F. Gordon Cumming in Gd. Words 133/2 The slope [is] so rapid that you can scarcely find footing.
absol.c1250Gen. & Ex. 3190 He..hauen soȝt, And funden, and hauen up-broȝt ðe bones. 1340Ayenb. 24 Clier wyt wel uor to understonde, and sotil wyt wel uor to vynde. 1382Wyclif Matt. vii. 7 Seke ȝe, and ȝe shulen fynde.
b. To discover (game) in hunting. Also absol.
c1420Avow. Arth. xxxi, The bore brittunt thay funde Was colurt of the kingus hunde. 1486Bk. St. Albans E v b, When she shall with houndes be foundyn and soght. 1565–73Cooper Thesaurus, Good hounds..open not but where they finde. 1848A. Jameson Sacr. & Leg. Art (1850) 196 The dogs..found. 1883Sherar 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).
a1225Ancr. R. 48 Louerd..min heorte is icumen aȝein eft: ich hire habbe ifunden. a1300Cursor 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. 1382Wyclif Luke xv. 5 Whanne he hath founden it, he ioyinge puttith on his shuldris. c1440Generydes 53 He wyste not them [his knyghtes] to fynde. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 143 By aduenturing both [shafts] I oft found both. 1667Milton 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?
1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 153 Set downe your mynde whereunto you will stand, that we may know once where we may finde you. 1602W. 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. a1626Sclater On Rom. iv. (1650) 25 Versipelles! Where may we finde you? 1856J. 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.
1647H. More Poems 294 [The soul] infinitely has fun Herself, her deep'st desire unspeakably hath wonne. 1889Spectator 14 Dec. 839 Browning may be said almost to have found himself in the delight he had in reading other persons' souls. 1893Academy 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.).
1605T. 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, wch wth direction at Signore Thomaso Yonge,..will find me out. 1922W. 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.
1552Huloet, Finde suerties, vadio. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. 110 Gif sic borgh may not be founden, he sall pas to the knawledge of ane assise. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 81 They find suretie to uthers, as accords of the law. 1821Examiner 350/1 You shall find security for your good behaviour. 1868Act 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.
a1225Ancr. R. 330 Him nis no þing leouere þen þet he muwe ivinden ancheisun uorto ȝiuene. 1535Coverdale Haggai i. 4 Ye youre selues can fynde tyme to dwell in syled houses. 1656Cowley Imit. Martial's Epigr. 21 If we for Happiness could leisure finde. 1711Steele Spect. No. 76 ⁋3 He would find an Opportunity to take some favourable Notice of him. 1760H. Walpole Corr. (ed. 3) III. ccclviii. 376, I just found a moment to write you a line. 1868J. 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.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 979 He..took a light, and fond his contenaunce As for to loke upon an old romaunce. c1440Gesta Rom. lxx. 324 (Harl. MS.) He slepte..so savourly, þat þe preste ne non othir myȝt fynde in hire herte to wake him. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 26 They can not fynde in their hertes to loue the author therof. 1611Bible 2 Sam. vii. 27 Therfore hath thy seruant found in his heart to pray this prayer vnto thee. 1711Steele Spect. No. 27 ⁋1 They..cannot find in their Hearts to relinquish it. 1861Geo. 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. a1897Mod. 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.
1810Scott Lady of L. iii. ix, The billow..That far to seaward finds his source. 1813H. & J. Smith Horace in London 90 Clouds..Which quickly find vent in a deluge of tears. 1819Shelley Cenci v. iv. 99 The only ill which can find place Upon the giddy, sharp and narrow hour Tottering beneath us. 1860W. F. Collier Gt. Events Hist. v. (1871) 173 The devotion of the people found vent chiefly in pilgrimages. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 696 An opening sufficient to enable the largest vessels to find ingress.
b. To reach, arrive at as a destination.
a1340Hampole Psalter xx. 8 Þi righthand fynd [L. inveniat] all þat has þe hated. 1646Sir 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. 1801Southey Thalaba vii. xx, Yet may a dagger find him.
c. To come home to, take hold of, reach the understanding or conscience of.
a1834Coleridge Conf. Inquiring Spirit i. (1840) 10 Whatever finds me, bears witness for itself that it has proceeded from a Holy Spirit. 1865M. 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. 1891Drummond 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.
a1000Cynewulf's Christ 183 (Gollancz) Hu mæᵹ ic..andsware æniᵹe findan Wraþum to-wiþere. c1175Lamb. Hom. 103 Eaðe mei þe mon fundan hu he hine seolf amerre. a1250Owl & Night. 705 Þe niȝtingale..hadde andsuere gode ifunde. c1320Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2371 Ac thai ne couthe nowt i-find, Whi th' emperour was blinde. 1481Caxton Godfrey cxxxvii. 204 The duc..bad hym saye that he hath founden. 1538Starkey England i. ii. 68 We may perauenture fynd some mean to restore our cuntrey. a1631Donne Poems (1650) 3 Teach me to..finde What winde Serves to advance an honest minde. 1678Phillips, To Find the Ships Trim, a term in navigation to find how she will sail best. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 701 This Remedy the Scythian Shepherds found. 1812–6J. 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.
1877Independent 4 Jan. 11/3 He said that at least 200 boys had found Jesus in the Tabernacle. 1932H. 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. 1957J. 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).
c1391Chaucer Astrol. Prol. 1 Conclusiouns that han ben fownde. c1500Lancelot 497 We have fundyne so. 1714Whiston Euclid (ed. 3) iii. i, To find [Billingsley 1570 has To finde out] the Center of a given Circle. 1840Lardner 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.
[a1225Ancr. R 66 Þe ueond..ivond wei touward hire of hire uorlorenesse. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3246, xii. weiȝes ðer-in..ðat euerilc kinde of israel Mai ðor his weiȝe finden wel. 1393Gower Conf. I. 265 If thou wolt finde a siker weie To love, put envie awaye. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 889 Who would not, finding way, break loose from Hell?] 1746–7Hervey Medit. (1818) 71 That fatal javelin..finds its way to the hearts of all the sons of Adam. 1803J. Bristed Pedestrian Tour II. 655 Her cousins..had been bankrupted..and had found their way up to London. 1827Examiner 792/2 English corn is finding its way into Holland. 1835Thirlwall Greece I. 11 A weak and sluggish river, which..scarcely finds its way to the sea. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest iv, Could you find your way home? 1875Jowett 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.]. a1240Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 199 Þet þu bringe þene Munuch to þire glednesse þet funde ðesne song bi ðe. a1300Cursor M. 1469 (Cott.) Enoch..was þe first þat letters fand. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 279 Tradicions founden vp of synful wrecchis. 1393Gower Conf. II. 161 The first in thilke londe..whiche the melodie fonde Of reedes. 1430Lydg. Chron. Troy i. iii, Famous Argus..fyrst that art yfonde. c1449Pecock Repr. 534 For this eende religiouns weren founde and foundid. c1450Henryson Mor. Fab. 77 At the last hee finds fourth a wyle. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 145 Many..have found suggestions..to bring this your realme into subversion. 1655–60Stanley 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.
1826J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 164 You wad hae fan' a pulse with æsculapian solemnity. 1892Northumb. Gloss., It's that dark, aa'll he' to fin' for the sneck.
17. Law.
†a. intr. To determine. (Only in OE.)
a1000Laws 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).
1495Act 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. 1515Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 9 They saide he hanged himselfe, but it was fownde contrarie. 1602Shakes. Ham. v. i. 5 The Crowner hath sate on her, and finds it Christian buriall. 1647N. 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. 1675C. Hatton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 121 Y⊇ crowner's inquest have found it only manslaughter. 1817W. 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.
c1400Apol. Loll. 45 Þe Holi Goost, wan He comiþ, schal find þis world of dome. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 290 He will be found in his fault, that wantis foroutin weir. 1531–2Act 23 Hen. VIII, c. 1 Anie personne..founde gyltie of any abbettement. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. i. 7 Is he found guilty? 1784Cowper Task ii. 12 He finds his fellow guilty of a skin Not colour'd like his own. 1821Examiner 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.
1574tr. Littleton's Tenures 100 a, The Graund Assise ought by the law to finde that [etc.]. a1657Sir 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. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 37 The jury..found a verdict of guilty. 1888Law Times LXXXV. 132/2 The jury at the trial found that the managing director..had ratified the contract.
absol.1622Bacon Hen. VII, 210 They would..inforce them to finde as they would direct. 1891Law 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.
1512Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 10 Any office or offices found before Eschetour or Eschetours. 1534Act 26 Hen. VIII, c. 2 An inditement of .xii. men lawfully founden. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. (1703) II. 99 This Indictment and Information was found by the Grand Jury. 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. xxiii. 301 To find a bill, there must at least twelve of the [grand] jury agree. 1845Stephen 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.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 215 Wi sholdest þu þis finden þe noht ne fost þerof. a1225St. Marher. 20 Hwa so..makeð chapele oðer chirche oðer ifindeð in ham liht oðer lampe. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 297 Þat euere eyȝte hyde lond an man hym ssolde fynde. a1300Cursor M. 13277 (Cott.) Wit þair scipp þai fand þam fode. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1555 And euer more..Eterne fyr I wol bifore the fynde. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. xix. (1869) 82 He wolde that..here herkeners..founden hem here vitailes. 1543–4Act 35 Hen. VIII, c. 11 §3 Boroughes..not findinge burgesses for the parliament. 1563Richmond. Wills 167 My thre natural sonns..shalbe fownden meate and drynke. 1603Johnson Kingd. & Commonw. 152 No more then every horseman [is accounted] a rider, or able to finde himselfe armour. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lxxi. (1739) 192 For every Plough, every man should find two compleat Horses. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 253 The subscription was but ten shillings a year: Britton found the instruments. 1814P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 122 The hotels do not find breakfast. 1826[see field-hand]. 1830S. Smith Major Downing 13, I get 12 dollars a month and found. 1839Dickens Nich. Nick. xii. 107 An annual salary of five pounds..and ‘found’ in food and lodging. 1853B. F. Taylor Jan. & June (1871) 273 A story..he wouldn't have whispered for twelve dollars a month ‘and found’. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 662 The government required each county to find its quota of ships. 1884Punch 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.
1664Butler Hud. ii. ii. 386 Honour is like that glassy Bubble That finds Philosophers such trouble. 1771Junius Lett. xlix. 254 The perpetration..of new crimes will find employment for us both. 1858Buckle 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.] 1375Barbour Bruce i. 322 Nane..Wald do sa mekill for him, that he Mycht sufficiantly fundyn be. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 36 My frendes founden me to scole. c1430Hymns Virg. (1867) 59, I wole þee fynde til þou be oolde. a1529Skelton Replyc. 147 Exhibicyon Therewith to be founde At the universite. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 73 Condemned persons..are found by the king as long as they do liue. 1713Steele Guardian No. 58 ⁋3 The king of Sweden finds me in clean linen. 1795Burke Thoughts Scarcity Wks. 1842 II. 249 Unless the labourer is well fed, and otherwise found with such necessaries of animal life. 1830Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) I. 212 Decline finding paupers in venison. 1857R. 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.
c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 9 Sche fond hirself. 1466Mann. & Househ. Exp. 346 Item, to ij. fellers of tymbre, and to fynde them selffes, viij.d. 1553Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 24 b, Such poore..as haue not wherof to fynde themselues. 1585Washington tr. Nicholay Voy. Turkie iii. iv. 76 b, They have..4 Aspres of pension by the day, but upon that they must fynde themselves. 1624Bacon War with Spain (1629) 45 The war in continuance will finde it selfe. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxiii. 133 A certain pay to find himself withal, and to live upon. 1754Fielding Voy. to Lisbon Wks. 1882 VII. 99 It was expected the passengers should find themselves in several things. 1847Marryat 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.
1483Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 59 Of y⊇ wheet was so grete plente yt it founde all y⊇ people..for thre yere. 1523Fitzherb. 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. 1586T. 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).
1881M. 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). 1889Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang I. 362/2 To find, to mess together. 1905H. 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.
1552Huloet, Finde out by studye, excudo. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 637 Johannes Fauscius..first found out the noble science of Imprintyng. 1611Bible 2 Chron. ii. 14 A man of Tyre, skilfull to..find out euery deuice which shall be put to him. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 406 Who shall..through the palpable obscure find out His uncouth way. 1712Addison Spect. No. 542 ⁋1 Since the circulation of the blood has been found out. 1744Harris Three Treat. ii. (1765) 363 note, They found out Laws. 1871R. 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.
1551Wilson Logike (1580) 36 b, Thei..doe searche narrowlie..and..at lengthe finde out the Mine. 1611Bible Job xi. 7 Canst thou by searching finde out God? 1625Bacon Ess. Truth (Arb.) 499 The..Labour, which Men take in finding out of Truth. 1634Herbert Trav. 217 A..proofe that Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd first found out that Continent now call'd America. 1712Steele Spect. No. 308 ⁋5, I was very much surprized..that any one should find out my Lodging. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vii. vii, As she is a woman of very great note, I shall easily find her out. 1816Scott 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.
1711Steele Spect. No. 51 ⁋7 If at the Catastrophe he were found out for a Traitor. 1741Richardson Pamela I. 65 Pray don't reveal yourself till he finds you out. a1853Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. viii. 108 When once a man has found himself out he cannot be deceived again. 1883Stubbs' 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.
a1715Burnet 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.
1862G. Macdonald D. Elginbrod ii. ii, ‘I don't like the pigs—I don't know where they are.’ ‘Well, we must find out.’ 1881Mrs. J. H. Riddell Senior Partner xxxi, ‘Who might that one be?’ ‘I am thinking ye'll have to find out for yourself.’ 1893M. E. Mann In Summer Shade xix, ‘He has found out about Mrs. Le Grice's bill,’ said Lally to herself. 1894B. Harraden Varying Moods 132 Perhaps death brings peace. I shall soon find out about that. 1913W. M. Gallichan Like Stars that Fall xi, Supposing your husband found out? There might be a devil of a row. 1927M. 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.]1799W. 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. 1832H. Martineau Each & All vii. 96, I am going into the depths of the city to find up a money lender. |