1577 D. Settle True Rep. Voy. Frobisher sig. Aiv^v The worlde, of late yeares, hath beene discouered by sundrie regions of this our Europe: which God hath so diuided in the exploring of the same, that it seemeth apt and agreeable to the discouerer, more then to any other, to inioy all such commodities as they yealde and affoorde.

?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) sig. A5^v As litigious Clients bookes of Law, Cost infinitely; taste of all the Awe, Bencht in our kingdomes Policie, Pietie, State; Earne all their deepe explorings.

1678 S. Speed tr. Valerius Maximus Romae Antiquae Descriptio vii. 142 As to what concern'd the exploring of Military Sacrifices, and making conjectures of Warlike Conducts [etc.].

1791 R. Townley Jrnl. kept Isle of Man I. 158 His stay was too short to allow those strict and minute explorings, from which..some very valuable discoveries might have been expected.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island ii. xii. 96 When you want to go a bit of exploring, you just ask old John.

1954 E. Taylor Hester Lilly 25 He had had so few encounters with women, so few confidings, explorings, and longed to take on some hazards and excitements.

2002 Bluegrass Unlimited Oct. 32/2 I did some exploring and saw two of Australia's largest birds of prey..soaring above the high trees.

1881 Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) 29 July The exploring coil is passed over the President's [sc. James Garfield] body... The instant the musical sound is heard..the position of the coil will be noted.

1913 Year-bk. Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. 316 The moveable exploring coil is attached to a handle and index.

2005 J. Daintith & R. Rennie Facts on File Dict. Physics (ed. 4) 97/1 The most common type [of fluxmeter] uses a small movable exploring coil (a search coil), which is placed in the field and then removed quickly.

1842 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 646/1 Exploring Conductors. One of the simplest instruments for collecting atmospherical electricity is the hand-exploring rod.

1867 H. M. Noad Student's Text-bk. Electr. i. v. 71 The Exploring Conductor at Kew Observatory.—This is a conical tube of thin copper raised 16 feet above the dome of the building, carrying at the top a small lantern or collecting lamp, provided with a little cowl.

1912 Gen. Electric Rev. Jan. 7/2 Such very high frequency waves can still be observed and measured..by bringing a conductor near them: the electric wave, impinging on this exploring conductor (‘resonator’ or ‘receiving antenna’) then induces a current in it.

1967 D. K. Gehmlich & S. B. Hammond Electromechanical Syst. v. 133 A small exploring conductor having a length dl is placed a distance r from conductor 1.

1840 Lancet 21 Mar. 949/2 He saw no objection at first to puncture the tumour with an exploring needle, as suggested by Dr. Clutterbuck.

1910 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 27 Aug. 508/1 It is important that the surgeon should be prepared to operate immediately he has discovered pus by means of an exploring needle.

1994 Clin. Infectious Dis. 19 1176/2 Eight days after admission signs of breaking down appeared at the base of the right lung posteriorly, and an exploring needle was inserted three times without any result.

1842 Provinc. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 16 Apr. 41/2 (heading) The exploring trocar and canula.

1912 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 26 Oct. 1140/1 Two or three days later the scrotum was punctured with an exploring trocar and cannula, and retained bloody fluid withdrawn.

1950 L. M. Davidoff & B. S. Epstein Abnormal Pneumoencephalogram xxvi. 377 Cases of noncommunicating cysts have been transformed into communicating cysts as a result of accidental puncture of the cyst wall by an exploring trochar.

1776 tr. G. Beccaria Terrestr. Atmospheric Electr. in tr. G. Beccaria Treat. Artific. Electr. 422 The electricity of the atmosphere..is to be investigated only by using exploring wires [It. fili esploratori] of metal, that are very long, and especially placed very high.

1842 W. Sturgeon Lect. Electr. xi. 177 The exploring wires in the kite string must have been negatively electrical to the atmosphere.

1885 Telegr. Jrnl. & Electr. Rev. 28 Feb. 192/1 The two exploring wires in connection with the galvanometer were..insulated so that only a cross section of each wire would be in contact with the water.

1892 C. A. H. Crosse Red-letter Days I. 178 I have an apparatus arranged for testing the electricity of the atmosphere. It is connected with exploring wires carried on high poles for more than a mile round the woods.

1919 J. A. Crowther Ions, Electrons, & Ionizing Radiations viii. 121 The distribution of potential across the flame is examined..by means of a fine platinum exploring wire, connected to..an electrometer.

1999 G. Deuschl & A. Eisen Recommendations Pract. Clin. Neurophysiol. (ed. 2) 195/2 It records the potential difference between the exploring wire and the cannula that sheathes the wire.

?1624 G. Chapman tr. Hymn to Hermes in tr. Crowne Homers Wks. 65 The King (Ioues dazeling Sonne) plac't his exploring wing On sacred Pylos.

1680 R. Boyle Exper. & Notes Prodvcibleness Chymicall Princ. Pref. sig. *5^v, in Sceptical Chymist (new ed.) To doubt whether they be agreeable,..to..the exploring Experiments of the fire.

1761 W. Shirley Twelve Serm. iv. 71 He..first breathed into it this curiously exploring desire.

1798 C. Smith Minor Morals I. v. 112 The orchis race with varied beauty charm, And mock the exploring bee, or fly's aërial form.

1823 S. H. Long Exped. I. 88 During the short period of his connection with the exploring party.

1870 F. von Mueller in E. Cooper Forest Culture & Eucalyptus Trees (1876) 137 Has the searching eye of the philosopher in vain penetrated geologic structure, or in vain the exploring phytographer circumscribed the forms?

1946 W. Ivins Art & Geom. i. 5 What do we discover when we examine the tactile-muscular sense returns given by the exploring hand?

1991 J. Trollope Rector's Wife viii. 105 An exploring tendril of ivy was growing along the gate.

2010 A. Urquhart Forgotten Highlander v. 176 If an exploring anthropologist had stumbled upon us in that jungle, he would have imagined that he had made a sensational new discovery.

1826 S. Turner Mod. Hist. Eng. I. i. xv. 339 The duchess's secretary exploringly inquired of the English ambassadors, what they had heard of Bourbon's marriage with the lady.

1889 ‘L. Keith’ Hurricane in Petticoats I. viii. 167 Teddy looked at him exploringly, as if to test the sincerity of the apology.

1966 Listener 3 Feb. 162/2 Human knowledge grows by always moving, exploringly and analogously, outside what were traditionally considered its proper limits.

2003 J. Brandon Silver Moon i. 27 The Greenwalds looked at each other exploringly.