searchn.
/səːtʃ/, U.S. /sərtʃ/ I. The action or an act of searching, and related senses.† 6. † 7. The action or an act of having a powerful and penetrating effect on someone, typically in an unpleasant or undesirable way. Cf. search v. 9. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. The examination or inspection of goods, materials, etc., in order to check their quality; esp. the inspection of the tools, materials, workmanship, etc., of a member or employee of a guild in order to verify that they conform to regulations or customary standards. Also: the right to conduct such an investigation (e.g. quots. 1415, 1449). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > [noun]
inspection1390
search1415
probationc1422
ensearchingc1430
surview1432
enserchise1436
overseeingc1449
sight1452
hearkeninga1483
discuting1483
ensearcha1509
inquiry1512
upsightc1515
perusing1556
perpending1558
overlooking1565
interview1567
trial1575
peruse1578
visitation1583
perspective?a1586
overviewing1590
looking over1599
sounding1599
perusal1604
supervise1604
disquisition1605
expiscation1605
prospect1625
ravellinga1626
disquiry1628
disquisitive1660
perpendment1667
inspecting1788
sleuthing1900
casing1928
1415 in W. Hudson Rec. City of Norwich (1906) I. 95 He of ye forseid two yat hath most voyce be ye forseyd serche and Scrutinie shal be prefixed and admitted in Meir for ye ȝer yan next folwyng.
1418 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 198 (MED) The Maystres..goon and asseyen weyghtys, powdrez, confescions, plasters, Oynementz, And all othyr thynges that longyth to the same Craft..ther labour of the forseyd serch, iiij d.
1449 in J. C. Tingey Rec. City of Norwich (1910) II. 279 (MED) Wardeyns..shall..be sworn to haue serche and correction of all and singuler defautes that arn..in the crafte.
1455 in E. W. W. Veale Great Red Bk. Bristol: Text Pt. II (1938) 51 (MED) Hit shall be lawfull to the..Chamburleynes to Putte the..seales to Ferme..Reserving..all maner Fines..Founden..by due serche.
1523 Act 14 & 15 Henry VIII c. 2 §3 in Statutes of Realm (1963) III. 208 Every such straunger occupiyng any mystery or handy crafte..shalbe under the Serch and Reformacion of the Wardens.
1613 J. May Declar. Estate of Clothing iv. 17 The Law hath effectually prouided for the search in all points, that in euerie place where cloth is made and sold, two, foure, six, or eight shall bee appointed for the search thereof, that it be according to law.
1654 in E. B. Jupp Hist. Acct. Worshipful Company of Carpenters (1848) 156 Al others that went wth the Compie vpon the late view & search for measuring of timber.
1797 Proc. Old Bailey 20 Sept. 523/2 I made a search into the bales of muslin; I found a deficiency of seven pieces; I immediately reported the deficiency to my superior.
1848 E. B. Jupp Hist. Acct. Worshipful Company of Carpenters 3 In course of time the objects for which these Guilds were formed were extended, and they were invested with Powers of Search.
1965 G. D. Ramsay Wilts. Woollen Industry in 16th & 17th Cent. (ed. 2) iv. 54 Cloths already searched locally had been recently exempted by statute from further search at Blackwell Hall.
b. The inspection of examination of goods for the purpose of levying duties, esp. the inspection of a ship’s cargo by customs officers.In modern English often in contexts where officers are searching for contraband, and thus overlapping with or merging into sense 3b.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > [noun] > search or examination of goods or vessels
search1442
visitation1755
rummage1757
1442 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) V. 219 (MED) It is impossible..to bringe in þe iijde part in bullion seyng þe forbedynges þat þe Duc of Bourgoigne hath maad and þe serches þat he hath maad.
1442 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Jan. 1442 §22. m. 6 Wherfore please it to youre highnesse..to ordein..that no..countrollours, or surveyours of serches..have any shippes of here owne.
?1464 J. Russe in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 282 The seyd Chapman is of no reputacion..and be coloure of hise office of supervisor of the serche shal gretly hurte the port.
1527 in W. Fraser Douglas Bk. (1885) IV. 120 Licence..to sell the saidis vitallis to the said Alexander..and..to fure the samyne in this realme without serch or arreist.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 62 The saique, which is a sort of Turkish Vessel that takes the Commander aboard, is not expos'd to the search of the Customers.
1701 W. Paterson Proposals Council of Trade 184 By Multiplying of Oaths, Searches, Dangers and Difficulties.
1836 Brit. & Foreign State Papers 1832–3 429 If, upon such search or examination, it shall appear to such Officer or Officers, that there is reasonable ground to believe that such Ship, Vessel, or Boat, [etc.].
1891 E. T. Olver & T. E. O'Reilly Imperial Tariff 82 Such search, so far as passengers' baggage is concerned, need in future only be made by the officers when requested to do so by the police.
1991 U.S. Customs Guide for Private Flyers (1992 ed.) 5 Aircraft leaving the U.S. for a foreign destination may be subject to a search by Customs officers.
2.
a. The action of looking carefully for someone or something; the action of attempting to find something one seeks, esp. when it is lost, hidden, or unknown; searching. Frequently, esp. in early use, in to make search; now usually in in search of (see Phrases 1).
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun]
seeking1303
out-seekinga1382
searchinga1382
search1426
laita1500
searching out1531
hunting-down1542
fishing1548
research1577
upseeking1594
riping1815
questing1848
casting1856
1426 in Collectanea Topographica & Genealogica (1837) IV. 252 Þe which þe forseid lorde shall fynde..by dewe and diligent serche.
1455 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 287 That they make serch withyn har qarterys.
1527 J. Ashwell in G. Joye Lett. Ashwel to Lyncolne (?1531) sig. A.iiv Also M. chawnceler made serche for him diuerse times when he came into the contre.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 10 The woman..shewid forth hir ernd..In sauyng hir seluen and serche of his wille.
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man i. f. 10v A man no lesse expert then learned, hath by his singular industry, and narrow search, found (as he reporteth) a thyrd.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 328 Lead off this ground & let's make further search For my poore sonne. View more context for this quotation
1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 682 [Ministers] who by their..diligent search of Scripture were..to qualifie themselves to teach and instruct the several Flocks.
1745 Life Bampfylde-Moore Carew 95 They all ride to 'Squire Blagden's, and while making Search in he Stables,..Bampfylde leaves them and posts away to Honiton.
1829 W. Scott Rob Roy (new ed.) I. Introd. p. lxxxviii Robin Oig absconded, and escaped all search.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 234 Search was made; and Godfrey's corpse was found in a field near London.
1902 J. T. Smith Art of Disappearing xxxvii. 347 While he was alive you could have found him as easily as I could, but he was beyond search always, though I guess not beyond betrayal.
2008 W. Rybolt Higher Thoughts (e-book, accessed 17 Apr. 2020) 138 And yet again such men in haste Made search for another lamb more chaste.
b. An attempt to find someone or something by searching; an effort to find something one seeks, esp. when it is lost, hidden, or unknown.Often followed by for (also after, †of) with that which is sought specified as the object of the preposition, e.g. the search for a new antibiotic, on a search for happiness.
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > a search
quest?c1335
search?a1475
searching out1531
searching1562
hunt1608
inquest1621
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 273 Thurwe all galyle A serge to make yf jhesu be enteryd ȝour pepyl A-mong.
1565 W. Allen Def. & Declar. Doctr. Purgatory i. vi. f. 61v Let vs entre into the searche off the meaning of these two textes, withe suche plainesse and sinceritye that [etc.].
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles x. 16 By many a dearne and painefull pearch Of Perycles the carefull search,..Is made with all due diligence. View more context for this quotation
1654 Bp. J. Taylor Real Presence 27 To acquit us from our search after this question in Scripture.
1744 M. Akenside Pleasures Imagination ii. 29 Where studious ease consumes the silent hour In shadowy searches and unfruitful care.
1788 E. Pendleton Lett. & Papers 12 June (1967) II. 528 An expectation of such perfection..was as vain as the search for the philosopher's stone.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxvii. 390 I..resolved to devote another year to a search among the chief glaciers.
1888 J. A. H. Murray in N.E.D. I. Pref. p. xvi Those who..have been always ready to undertake searches in connexion with groups of words at which the Editor and his staff were actually working.
1963 Science 11 Oct. 249/1 The search for physiological effects of magnetic and electromagnetic fields has been relatively disappointing.
1992 L. Niven & S. Barnes Calif. Voodoo Game v. 59 A quick search of the room revealed no more nasty surprises.
2003 F. Kidman Songs from Violet Café vii. 267 The others have gone down to the lakeside, abandoning the search in favour of skipping stones.
3. Uses of sense 2 in specific contexts.
a. The examination of official records or legal documents in order to discover specific information; (in later use) spec. an investigation of public records to find if a property is subject to any liabilities or encumbrances. Cf. title search n. at title n. Compounds 2b.
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the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > inspection, survey > [noun] > of documents
search1432
overhauling1809
vidimus1850
1432 in J. B. Sheppard Let. Bks. Monastery Christ Church Canterbury (1889) 161 (MED) Yf our fadyr the Abot and hys brethryn of Tynterne yn Yrland can or may among hem self fynde, whenne they have maad here serch among here munimentys..leyth us have trewe..declaration of here agrement of the summe wych ys due.
1465 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 322 John Salatt hathe made a serge in the regestre..aftre the wylles and testementys.
1554 in Shropshire Parish Documents (1903) 54 For the serche of the Regestre at lychefylde vis viiid.
1689 R. Atkyns Power, Jurisdict. & Priviledge of Parl. 24 It is absurd to think, that that needed any search of the Rolls in Chancery, but the Search was to be only, Whether that particular Burrough of S. Albans was one of those Ancient Burroughs that had used that Priviledge, and had a Right to it.
1836 Act 6 & 7 William IV c. 86 §37 For every general Search of the said Indexes shall be paid the Sum of Twenty Shillings.
1966 Real Property, Probate & Trust Jrnl. 1 191/2 A complete land title search as to a specific parcel requires the aggregation of many different kinds of information.
2017 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 14 May (Real Estate section) 6 A notary handles the details of the transaction and performs a search of the land registry for title records.
b. An act by a person with legal authority, such as a police officer, of searching a premises, vehicle, a person's body, etc., in order to discover evidence of a crime, e.g. entering and searching a person’s premises with a search warrant, or boarding and inspecting a ship by right of search.Cf. right of search, search and seizure. See also body search n., skin search n. at skin n. Compounds 5, strip-search n. at strip v.1 Compounds 1a.
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1591 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) I. 215 [They] made diligent search about her, and found the enemies marke to be in her fore crag, or fore part of her throate.
1605 E. Sandys Relation State of Relig. sig. Nv Neither is it lawfull in Italy to carry bookes about from one place to another, without allowance of them from the Inquisitor, or search by their authorities.
1671 F. Philipps Regale Necessarium 26 Their Lands belonging to their Earldoms have been exempted from the Contribution of the Wages of Knights of the Shire elected to be Parliament men, and their Houses from any Search by any Constable or Ordinary Officer.
1790 I. Espinasse Digest Law of Actions at Nisi Prius II. viii. 79 In searches by excise officers for goods which have not paid the duty, by night, the presence of a constable or peace officer is required.
1818 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 37 251 He felt a pride in the British flag being, for this object alone [sc. abolition of the slave trade], subjected to Search by foreign ships.
1863 tr. Trial Mr. James Bishop at Naples 1 This one not acceding to the courteous request to shew of himself the objects he possessed, declared that..he would never submit to the search being carried out.
1977 Billboard 12 Nov. 44/3 Two issued complaints about not being able to attend these facilities unless they submitted to a search by security guards.
2017 birminghammail.co.uk (Nexis) 27 Mar. Officers sealed off the road while they conducted a search of the house.
c. An act or instance of searching for information, images, etc., on a digital database or the internet, esp. by entering a particular string of words or characters into a search engine. Also: the systematic retrieval of information of this kind; the facility for this.In quot. 1950 with reference to automated searches on data stored in punched cards (cf. punched card n. at punched adj.1 Compounds), an early form of digital data processing.
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1950 Amer. Documentation 1 77 Punched cards have permitted us to take the first steps toward developing systems of information analysis capable of permitting searches to be directed to new, unforeseen combinations of entities, concepts and operations.
1984 Which Micro? Dec. 33/1 You can enter up to 3 indexes for the search.
1992 Machine Transl. 7 107 The knowledge used for search breaks down into several areas specific to the various input meanings and means of expression.
2002 D. Goleman et al. Business: Ultimate Resource 616/1 The larger the website, the more important advanced search becomes.
2019 @LethalChicken17 9 Apr. in twitter.com (accessed 10 Apr. 2019) I did a search for ‘Camping with Sasquatch’... I Googled it, just to see what would come up.
4. † b. The action of rigorously inspecting or evaluating one's thoughts, conduct, motives, etc., in order to identify one's sins or failings; an instance of this. Cf. soul search n. Obsolete.
a. An inquiry or investigation into the nature of or truth about something; (also) the action of conducting such an inquiry. Now usually with into.In quot. 1609: a medical examination for diagnostic purposes. Cf. search v. 7a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > [noun]
inquisitionc1384
inquiryc1440
searcha1500
quest1531
research1604
researching1611
digging1827
fact-finding1854
delving1888
scanning1937
oppo1990
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) l. 1331 (MED) Of the contrey men a serch secre Himself he make, and lerne in veritee Of hem, that on her lyf wil vndirtake, That thus it is, and vnder warde hem make.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 142 (MED) This serche wich we nowe haue made..hath be a digression ffrom the mater in wich we labour.
a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) l. 1754 (MED) The principal agent to know at euery seson Requirith grete serch made bi subtile reson.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. iii. f. 16 To make diligent searche and inquisition what maner of people inhabited the land.
1601 J. Deacon & J. Walker Dialogicall Disc. Spirits & Diuels To Rdr. sig. A4 Tatling these newes without any regard or due search into the soundnes thereof.
1609 T. Dekker Rauens Almanacke sig. C2 One plague or other, will lie in her tender bones..to some people (especially the French..)..as fatall and as busie in priuie Searches as the fall of the Leafe.
1723 B. Mandeville Fable Bees (ed. 2) (title page) Also an essay on charity and charity-schools. And a search into the nature of society.
1839 Magnet 14 Jan. 8/6 Even those farmers..have this season commenced a search into the natural gratitude of land well managed, by marling, boning, and, draining.
1936 Pop. Aviation Oct. 30/1 A search into the prior art before proceeding with the patent application is often desirable.
2004 ABC Transcripts (Austral.) (Nexis) 28 Nov. Their forensic search into the cause of their electoral defeat.
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the mind > mental capacity > spirituality > mind, soul, spirit, heart > introspection > [noun]
search1520
searching1611
self-searching1632
soul-searchinga1651
introversion1654
soul search1667
1520 Dyetary Ghostly Helthe sig. c.vv Tourne vnto your selfe, callynge to remembraunce wt dylygent serche, how ye haue expended yt daye in euery thynge yt ye haue done or lefte vndone, yt behoued you to haue do.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. OOOiiii The exercise..is called a meditacion, as long as it is with any inquisicion, serche, or difficulty of the mynde.
1659 A. Hay Diary 11 June (1901) 50 I..then retired myself to my preparatioun and weeklie search, and had a very comfortable allowance in some meditations.
a1673 G. Swinnock in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1870) I. Ps. iv. 4 The most successful searches have been made in the night season.
1710 M. Henry Expos. Poet. Bks. Old Test. Job xvi. sig. H/2 None was ever more ready than he to acknowledge his Sins of Infirmity, but upon Search he could not charge himself with any enormous Crime for which he should be made more miserable than other Men.
1861 E. Garbett in Serm. & Addr. delivered at Conf. Diocese of Oxf. iv. 76 We must no longer confine our search within the limits of the soul itself, but stretch it beyond into that loftier sphere of being with which the inspired revelation makes us acquainted.
5. The range over which someone or something can search effectively; the scope of a (particular) search; (also) the area in which searching is made possible by something, e.g. the area illuminated by a specified light source.
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > range to which search extends
search1574
1574 A. Anderson Expos. Hymne Benedictus f. 43v Not any man is by chance set into place, autoritie, or any office, but are appointed of god in his wisdome, yea before they are to be men & beyond his search, sute, or expectation, to ye seruice of his god.
1616 B. Jonson Speeches at Prince Henries Barriers 90 in Wks. I Beyond the paths, and searches of the sunne Let him tempt fate.
1792 S. Rogers Pleasures Mem. i. 361 That eye so finely wrought, Beyond the search of sense.
1921 Poetry (Chicago) Apr. 28 Where they begin may be here at my hand Or there far lost beyond the search of eye.
2001 M. Zarlengo Tabernacle Gifts vi. 87 These questions go beyond the search of this book.
a. That which has been searched for and discovered. Obsolete.
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a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 11 This Lord Lumley did pursue Recondite Learning, as much as any of his Honourable Rank in those Times, and was owner of a most precious Library, the Search and Collection of Mr. Humfry Llyd.
b. The object of a search; that which is looked for or sought after. Obsolete.
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1806 H. Siddons Maid, Wife, & Widow I. 244 Content is the end, the search of all mankind.
1883 E. Martin Leo's Poet. Wks. 14 Gold was the search of weak and brave—Their hope, their strife, their love, their grave.
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the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > [noun] > penetration > quality or power of
penetrancya1586
penetrability1609
penetrativeness1652
search1902
1902 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 591/2 Outside there was the drip of the thatch eaves, the old search and pity of the wind, but they heard not these.
8. In a web page or graphical user interface: a button (button n. 4d) or item in a menu (menu n. 3a) used to initiate a search for specific data.
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1985 R. N. Moll & R. Folsom Macintosh Pascal xi. 427 When you click on Search, procedure HuntForAllOccurrences is called.
2010 G. Mazo & M. Trautschold BlackBerry Storm 2 Made Simple xiii. 299/1 Press the Menu key and select Search.
2019 @abbyleposa3 29 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 9 Dec. 2019) I just googled a supposedly haunted cemetary and AS SOON as I clicked search the Xbox in the living room turned on.
9. Surgery. An instrument, typically a slender rod, used to examine wounds and parts of the body; a probe (probe n. 3). Cf. searcher n. 8a. Obsolete.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > probe or sound
tenta1400
probe?a1425
search?a1425
sequere mea1425
searcher?c1425
searching iron1477
prove?1541
privet1598
proof1611
style1631
seeker1658
searching instrument1663
stylet1697
stiletto1699
breast-probe1739
sound1797
sounder1875
tracer1882
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 48v (MED) After in persyng & ledyng þe taile of þe probe or sherch [?c1425 Paris probe, i. serchoure; L. probe] vn to þe place of þe water þay drawe it out.
10. A person appointed to search, examine, or inspect something; (originally) spec. one who supervises the behaviour of nuns in a convent in order to maintain discipline (cf. searcher n. 3). Obsolete.Corresponding to various senses within searcher n. I.
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society > faith > church government > monasticism > monastic functionary > disciplinary officer > [noun]
searchc1500
definitor1648
zealator1849
c1500 (a1473) Syon Additions Sisters (Arundel) in J. Hogg Rewyll Seynt Sauioure (1980) IV. vi. 19 Sche schal openly confesse..and..two serches schal ȝeve her disciplyne.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 154 Yet she muste aske forgyuenesse afterwarde and the souerayne and serches that haue cure of the relygyon oughte to se that she be sadly correcte.
1556 H. Machyn Diary (1848) 102 [George the] sherche of Graffend.
1652 J. Wright tr. J.-P. Camus Nature's Paradox ix. 215 The Shee-Inquisitors came first thither to doe their Office... There was not one of the three Searches, but judged this good Office as feasable as reasonable.
11. A group of people tasked with searching for someone or something; a search party. Obsolete.
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > searcher or seeker > group
searcha1616
search party1832
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. i. 160 That you shall surely Finde him: lead to the Sagittar, the raised search . View more context for this quotation
1637 tr. Valentine & Orson xlvi. 181 The King was hereat right heavy, and presently sent out a search, to see if they could finde the murtherer.
Phrases
P1. in search. Cf. in pursuit at pursuit n. 6b, in quest at quest n.2 4b.
a. in search of: so as to look for, in order to find, in pursuit of. Frequently used predicatively: looking for, trying to find. [compare Middle French, French en cherche de (1569).]
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > engaged in searching for [phrase]
in the wind1540
in search of1563
on (also upon) the look1716
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > engaged in searching for [phrase] > in quest of
inquest1470
in quest1518
in (the) request of1541
in search of1563
1563 L. Humphrey tr. Philo of Alexandria Concernynge Nobilitye sig. Aa.iiv in Nobles or of Nobilitye His minde should lesse further, in searche of the one onely euerlasting God, and father of all thinges, as well conceyued in mynde, as subiect to sence.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 429 If zealous loue should go in search of vertue, Where should he finde it purer then in Blanch? View more context for this quotation
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 214 I receiv'd instructions, how to behave..in Towne, what directions, Masters, and bookes to take in search..of the Antiquities, Churches, Collections &c.
?1716 A. Pope Let. in Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. & Wks. (1837) I. 328 I might run into Turkey in search of liberty.
1762 G. Colman Musical Lady i. i. 6 Come! I have been in search of you this hour.
1879 J. Lubbock Sci. Lect. iii. 71 Some species..ascend bushes in search of aphides.
1954 ‘N. Blake’ Whisper in Gloom ii. x. 139 Mr. Borch was in search of information.
2015 New Yorker 1 June 72/2 [His] flaws are mostly ones of exuberance, the jittery overcompensations of an academic in search of an audience.
b. in search after (also in search for): = in search of at Phrases 1a.Use with after is more common than with for in the 17th century, with for becoming more common during the 19th century. Use with of is vastly more common in all periods.
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1589 A. Munday tr. F. de Vernassal Hist. Palmendos xvi. f. 52v The fiue Knights, that were departed in searche after Palmendos.
1600 C. Tourneur Transformed Metamorph. sig. D3v Much teen they bide in search for such an one.
1660 tr. M. Amyraut Treat. conc. Relig. i. v. 70 The belief of a Providence, which was a light to conduct them to a clearer knowledge of what they were in search after.
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy i. xv. 62 Remember that Truth alone is the Matter you are in search after.
?1795 Meg of Wapping's Garland 7 But now I'll go in search for him, In grief I'll wait no longer.
1881 W. Robertson in Sunday Mag. Apr. 245 The passionate absorbedness with which again and again intellect has plumbed its way forward in search for God.
1942 F. Holland Diary 3 Mar. in P. Stone et al. El Tigre (1999) ii. 43 The boys went in search after native foods.
2020 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 8 Mar. This year we are in search for the most inspirational women in Oxfordshire.
c. With infinitive complement. On a quest to find or achieve something; (in predicative use) seeking to do something. Now rare.
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1593 N. Breton in R. S. Phœnix Nest 71 Whose bodie sunke in search to gaine that shore, Where many a Prince had perished before.
1599 E. Ford Parismenos xxi. Xx3v Being now assured of all other doubts, and hauing finished my trauell in search to finde you out.
1631 C. Aleyn Battailes Crescey & Poictiers sig. B2 The English are in search to finde Where it is fordable, and how they might Gaine to the other side.
1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus All Familiar Colloquies 166 His Wife, a Woman of an admirable Temper, suspecting something more than ordinary, went in search to find out her Husband's Intrigues.
1839 tr. F. Schiller Battle with Dragon in Monthly Chron. 3 564 Explor'd each mountain-rock and glen, In search to find the monster's den.
1972 Kunst des Orients 9 145 The Gūrid prince Quţbas-Dīn Muhammad (541/1146-7) set in search to find a beautiful place to build a city and a strong castle suitable for kings.
P2. International Law. right of search.
a. The right of a ship of a nation at war to stop a neutral merchant vessel and search it for prohibited goods carried in violation of neutrality. Formerly also sometimes in wider use, esp. with reference to the searching of slave ships after the abolition of the slave trade.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right to search vessels
right of search1740
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > operations or manoeuvres > [noun] > searching or examining > right to
right of search1740
1740 Conduct D—ke of Ar—le for Four Last Years Review'd 15 The King my Master, said he, will as soon part with his Eyes as with his Right of Search upon the American Seas.
1798 Deb. Congr. U.S. 12 June (1851) 1907 Gentlemen appeared to confound the right of search with the right of capture.
1817 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 36 1334 The only means of ultimate success consisted, in his opinion, in the adoption of some arrangement among the greater powers of Europe, which should establish a mutual right of search [of slave vessels].
1904 Ohio Law Bull. 14 Nov. 503/2 It is this exception, of course, that gives importance to the right of search at the present time.
2015 Harvard Law Rev. 128 1198 From the U.S. perspective, Britain had abused the wartime right of search during the recent Napoleonic Wars, which was a cause of the War of 1812.
b. In the same sense with search in combination with visit (see visit n. 3b) or visitation (see visitation n. 1e), as right of visitation and search, right of search and visit, etc.
ΚΠ
1799 Rep. Judgm. High Court Admiralty on Swedish Convoy 16 It is for the purpose of ascertaining these points that the necessity of this right of visitation and search exists.
1842 H. Wheaton (title) Enquiry into the validity of the British claim to a right of visitation and search of American vessels suspected to be engaged in the African slave trade.
1939 Jrnl. Compar. Legislation & Internat. Law 21 153 The development of the right of visit and search must take into account the altered conditions of war.
2006 A. Syrigos in A. Strati et al. Unresolved Issues & New Challenges to Law of Sea vii. 154 This interference..can be classified under two general categories, the first being the right of approach and the second being the right of search and visit.
P3. In noun phrases with and and another noun.See also search and rescue n.
a. search and recovery: the process of locating and recovering objects which are lost, esp. underwater, or people who are missing (typically presumed dead); = search and retrieval at Phrases 3b; frequently attributive. In early use probably not as a fixed collocation.
ΚΠ
1853 Dundee Courier 30 Nov. Judging of applications..for search and recovery of stolen goods.
1947 N.Y. Times 23 Nov. 54/2 Major Alva R. Smith of Savannah, Ga., head of the service's search and recovery division, said the Army had accounted for all the thirty-six American fliers who crashed in Sikang.
2008 Bangor (Maine) Daily News (Nexis) 24 May d7 The underwater camera equipment..will be an integral part of the..Dive Team's operations when it is called to perform search and recovery missions.
b. search and retrieval.
(a) The action of searching and recovering information from a reference system, esp. a computer system. Frequently attributive. Cf. information retrieval n. at information n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1954 Amer. Documentation 5 234/2 The particular [filing] method should be selected on the basis of efficiency and suitability for search and retrieval.
2017 Politics & Govt. Week 23 Mar. 5635 Search and retrieval systems allow a user to locate specific information from a repository of documents.
(b) The process of locating and recovering objects which are lost, esp. underwater, or people who are missing (typically presumed dead); = search and recovery at Phrases 3a. Frequently attributive.
ΚΠ
1974 Tyrone (Pa.) Daily Herald 28 Sept. 1/5 Five Tyrone men..will tomorrow receive certificates as scuba divers... They are now qualified for search and retrieval assignments in the area.
2010 J. Woodford Great Barrier Reef iii. 27 I was about to start the finale of the [rescue diver training] course—a full-scale mock rescue involving a missing diver..requiring me to coordinate and execute a search and retrieval.
c. Law. search and seizure: the legally authorized procedure of searching or confiscating a person's premises or property.
ΚΠ
1625 Proclam. making Currant Certaine French Coyne (single sheet) And doth also straightly charge all Customers, Comptrollers, Searchers, and other Officers of His Highnes Ports, to make diligent search and seizure of all such Coyne as shall be imported contrary to His Maiesties Royall Proclamation.
1801 Bell's Weekly Messenger 9 Aug. 1/3 The domiciliary visits for search and seizure of English merchandizes extended from Brussells to Antwerp.
1928 U.S. Rep. (Supreme Court) 275 106 The liquor was obtained by a search and seizure instituted without warrant or probable cause.
2013 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 11 Sept. (Finance section) 15 The documents show how the government can subvert Americans' constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Compounds
C1. As a modifier.
a. With reference to searching for people who or things which are lost, missing, or in danger, as search area, search expedition, search plane. See also search party n. Cf. search and recovery at Phrases 3a, search and rescue adj.
ΚΠ
1851 Morning Chron. 13 Oct. 5/6 From the information brought before the public on the results..of the labours of the Search Expeditions, we can hardly arrive, I conceive, at any other conclusion.
1885 Chatterbox 13 June 238/2 Their chief hope of relief lay in the expectation that when their ship was missed their friends in Sydney might send out a search expedition for them.
1928 Courier & Advertiser (Dundee) 25 Feb. 5/2 Captain Hinkler missing... Search 'plane to be sent out at daylight.
1973 H. Nielsen Severed Key i. 13 Word of the airline crash had spread rapidly... Only the hardiest of the amateur sailors would be able to reach the search area.
2013 Capital (Annapolis, Maryland) 3 Sept. a3 (headline) Search effort for firefighter missing in national forest in northern New Mexico grows.
b.
(a) With reference to the retrieval of information from a digital database or the internet (see sense 3c), as search algorithm, search argument, search function, search result, etc. See also search engine n.
ΚΠ
1954 Amer. Documentation 5 243/1 There is..no limit..to the extent to which we may apply the principle of defining classes in terms of subclasses and their elements... These possibilities attain considerable importance..in establishing search strategy to employ..automatic electronic equipment to best advantage.
1990 Best's Rev. Nov. 56/1 The search argument was specified incorrectly, causing the program to read the entire database, searching for a match that did not exist.
1991 Computer Weekly 24 Jan. 34 The EMC proprietary search algorithm determines if a record is located in cache much faster than with traditional methods.
2001 Contact May 96/1 The big advantage of electronics over a paper organiser is the search function.
2014 New Yorker 10 Feb. 36/1 ‘Content farms’..analyze which subjects are most frequently Googled, and then churn out material on those subjects so as to end up at the top of search results.
(b)
search term n. a word, phrase, or character string entered into a search engine or similar function.
ΚΠ
1956 Amer. Documentation 7 286/1 To control the scattering caused by the use of more terms in searching than were used in pertinent entries, the searcher, during the search, would eliminate search terms one at a time from his list in the order of their increasing importance until he arrived at some irreducible minimum.
1991 CompuServe Mag. New Member Issue 37/2 With search terms shorter than three letters, AAE retrieves only those entries that match exactly.
2014 Times 10 Oct. (Bricks & Mortar section) 11/1 Of the top ten grocery search terms on Google, eight are bakery-related, with chocolate cake coming top and banana bread in third place.
search tree n. any of several data structures having the form of a tree (tree n. 6b(e)) and configured to facilitate efficient searching and retrieval of data; esp. a binary tree.Frequently with modifying word or phrase, as AVL search tree, binary search tree, etc.
ΚΠ
1960 A. Newell in Proc. IRE-AIEE-ACM Western Joint Computer Conf. 276/2 The nodes in the search tree are stages in the computation; the branches are the possible computational actions.
1962 T. N. Hibbard in Jrnl. ACM 9 14 For brevity, a search tree will here be defined as a binary search tree.
2016 Theoret. Computer Sci. 616 142 Enforcing this requirement is in fact easier than in the case of the AVL search trees.
C2. † search-making n. Obsolete the action of undertaking a search for, examination of, or investigation into someone or something.With early use, cf. sense 1a.
search coil n. an apparatus consisting of a coil of insulated wire connected to a galvanometer or similar instrument, used for detecting and measuring a magnetic field (for example, one generated by a buried object) by means of a current induced in the coil when it is quickly moved into or out of the field; = exploring coil n. at exploring n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > measurement of galvanic currents > apparatus for > component of
astatic needle1866
shunt box1878
search coil1888
1888 Electrician 19 Oct. 754/2 Provided with a separate search coil, connected to special collector rings and brushes.
1953 R. J. C. Atkinson Field Archaeol. (ed. 2) i. 39 The soil is usually removed in a series of shallow layers, and the surface of each layer can be swept with the search-coil.
2008 Guardian (Nexis) 6 Sept. (Family section) 8 Roger explains the basics of using a detector, which involves using a sweeping motion of the search coil and waiting for a bleep and high reading of conductivity on the control panel.
search day n. now historical a day appointed by a guild for inspection of the work and standards of its members; cf. sense 1a.In quots. with reference to the London livery companies.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > inspection, survey > [noun] > formal or official > as visit > occasion of
search day1547
1547 in E. B. Jupp & W. W. Pocock Hist. Acct. Worshipful Company of Carpenters (1887) 386 Item payd for oure dynner on the serche day of oure lands..vjs iijd.
1630 Court Minute Bk. Worshipful Company of Plumbers (Guildhall Libr. CLC/L/PH/B/001/MS02208/001) It shal bee lawfull for the Mr and wardens..for the tyme being uppon everie search Day to be by them made from henceforth from tyme to tyme to destrayne, for all such duties as shal bee behinde and unpaid by any brother of this Company.
1787 Rules, Orders, Constitutions, & Ordinances Plaisterers City of London, 1765 19 No more than the Sum of Forty Shillings shall be allowed out of the said Cash for the Expences of every Search Day.
1958 Econ. Hist. Rev. 10 386 Each quarter they varied the area for their search day: Chiswell Street, Old Street and Clerkenwell one quarter, Holborn three months later, Thames Street, Queen Street and Piccadilly the next search day.
search dog n. a dog trained to locate missing people or to detect illicit substances such as drugs or explosives; cf. sniffer dog at sniffer n. 3b.
ΚΠ
1915 Christian Reg. (Boston) 12 Aug. 767/1 Their object was the training of the search dog to hunt for the wounded, who often escape the observation of the most attentive ambulance men, while the dog succeeds in unearthing them immediately by his keen scent.
2019 Sun (Nexis) 24 Mar. They have..employed a highly visible team of search dogs to sniff out both explosives and drugs.
search house n. now historical a building or office in which searches of people, baggage, etc., are conducted, esp. at a custom house or at a diamond mine; = searching house n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > imposition or collecting of duties on goods > [noun] > customs house or tollbooth > room or building
search housec1530
long room1642
toll-room1749
c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. II. 39 All our cariage was had home to the serch house, where all my Master's apparail and the gentlemens, with the rest of the servaunts were serched to th' uttermost.
1832 Satirist 11 Mar. 83/3 Let there be a search-house at every port, so placed that it cannot be passed by, by passengers from packets, &c.
1878 Belgravia Sept. 283 It is many years since, by the rectification of the frontier between Austria and Bavaria, the nuisance of the search-house was transferred from Achensee to Achenwald.
1987 R. V. Turrell Capital & Labour Kimberley Diamond Fields 1871–1890 139 All mineworkers now had to go through the search houses on entry to and exit from the mines.
ΚΠ
a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 568 And that þe shirrifs wokely make serch..vppon þe peyn to lese Cs. at euery tyme they be founde laches in serch-makyng.
1613 Ordinances in Memorials Guild of Merchant Taylors (1875) xxxviii. 210 And of all other defaults which shall happen them to finde in theire Search-making.
1776 M. Morris Jrnl. 17 Dec. in Bull. Friends' Hist. Soc. Philadelphia (1919) May 13 Gondola men in arms patrolling the streets; and diligent search making for firearms, ammunition and Tories.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House liv. 518 We want more pains-taking and search-making into this murder.
1892 Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago) 17 Mar. 3/7 (heading) Strict search-making of homes occupied by subjects.
search parade n. a regular assembling of prisoners in order to search their persons and clothing for prohibited items.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > types of search or searching > searching a person or his clothes > periodic search in prison
search parade1896
1896 H. M. Dreyer in Managem. & Discipline of Convict Stations & Prisons for 1895 App. D. p. xxvi Surprise search parades have been instituted which have reduced the smuggling into the Station of contraband articles to almost a minimum.
1900 T. Hopkins Silent Gate 215 Search parade: caps off, slops unbuttoned, arms outstretched,—as if..you could smuggle in a hook, or a file, or a saw from the quarries of Longstaff.
1942 J. Mansel in S. P. MacKenzie Colditz Myth (2006) vi. 239 No afternoon tea by order of the Kommandant..because he was laughed at on search parade yesterday.
search room n. a room in a record office or archive used for consultation of the documents kept there.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > inspection, survey > [noun] > of documents > place for
search room1850
society > communication > record > written record > arrangement and storage of written records > [noun] > place where official records are kept > room in
Chancellary1687
search room1850
1850 Househ. Words 30 Nov. 240/2 It is called the Search Room; and there, for a small fee, the curious may gain, in a few minutes, a certificate of any marriage, birth, or death that has occurred since the establishment of this public office [sc. the Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Somerset House].
1897 Dict. National Biogr. LI. 211 In 1867 he became a junior clerk in the Record Office, where he ultimately became superintendent of the search room.
1975 Amer. Archivist 38 496 In the search room there should be two or more attendants whose responsibilities include watching the room for theft.
2015 North Irish Roots 26 34 Many days were spent in the Search Room of the GRO, Dublin..and searching cemeteries in Magilligan and Draperstown.
search sheet n. Scots Law a document summarizing the deeds relating to a particular landed property within the Register of Sasines (see register n.1 3).From the 1980s search sheets diminished in importance because of the progressive introduction of registration of title.
ΚΠ
1863 Scotsman 14 Mar. 3/3 The making of these entries in the Search Sheet should be an absolute condition of the registration of the deed.
1903 County & Munic. Rec. 12 May 139/3 The index of places..had been of great assistance to those availing themselves of the search sheets.
1997 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 1 Oct. 21 Over a three-year period, nine million pages of search sheets and their indexes from 1905 onwards in the ancient Register of Sasines, have been transferred to computer databanks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
searchv.
/səːtʃ/, U.S. /sərtʃ/α. Middle English chearch, Middle English scherche, Middle English seerche, Middle English sercche, Middle English serchee (perhaps transmission error), Middle English sherch, Middle English–1500s cerche, Middle English–1500s sarche, Middle English–1600s searche, Middle English–1600s serche, Middle English–1700s serch, late Middle English sorche (probably transmission error), 1500s sarych, 1500s scarche, 1500s sertche, 1500s seyrch, 1500s– search, 1600s cherch, 1600s scearch, 1600s surch, 1800s– sarch (regional); Scottish pre-1700 cersh, pre-1700 sairche, pre-1700 scearche, pre-1700 schearch, pre-1700 searche, pre-1700 secharched (past participle, perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 seirch, pre-1700 seirche, pre-1700 serch, pre-1700 serche, pre-1700 sersche, pre-1700 sersh, pre-1700 seyrch, pre-1700 1700s– search; U.S. regional 1900s– s'arch, 1900s– saa'ch (southern, in African-American usage).
β. Middle English cerge, Middle English scerge, Middle English seerge, Middle English–1500s serge.
γ. Middle English lercede (past tense, transmission error), Middle English serce, Middle English serse, Middle English–1500s sers, 1500s searse, 1500s seirs; Scottish pre-1700 cearse, pre-1700 ceirs, pre-1700 cers, pre-1700 cerse, pre-1700 scers, pre-1700 schers, pre-1700 scherse, pre-1700 searce, pre-1700 sears, pre-1700 seirce, pre-1700 seirs, pre-1700 serce, pre-1700 sers, pre-1700 serse, pre-1700 seyrs, pre-1700 sirce.
I. To explore (an area, a place, etc.) or examine (a person) closely or thoroughly in order to find or discover something, and related senses.† 7.
1.
a. intransitive. To make a careful or thorough search of a place, area, etc., in order to find someone or something; to make a concerted attempt to find that which one seeks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)]
seekc1000
ofsechec1300
searchc1330
laita1400
ripea1400
to cast about1575
to fall about1632
quest1669
to bush about or out1686
beat1709
to cast about one1823
feather1892
c1330 King of Tars (Auch.) l. 987 in Englische Studien (1889) 11 56 (MED) Þe soudan him bisouȝt..To..serche in his cuntray; Who þat wold nouȝt cristned be, He schuld be honged opon a tre.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 13148 Þei serched alle vp & doun tille þei sauh his gonfaynoun.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxiii. 423 Bot euer Grisandols serched thourgh the forestes, oon hour foreward, another bakke.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job viii. 8 Enquere of them that haue bene before the, search diligently amonge thy forefathers.
1589 A. Munday tr. F. de Vernassal Hist. Palmendos xxix. f. 91v They had searched through the Castell, and found nothing wanting.
1663 G. Fox in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. Oct. (1914) 149 Cornall Kerby sent solgers to surch in boxes..for mee.
1712 A. Pope tr. Statius First Bk. Thebais in Misc. Poems 6 Cadmus searching round the spacious Sea.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. P. Calderon Scenes from Magico Prodigioso in Posthumous Poems (1824) 365 Search even as thou wilt, But thou shalt never find what I can hide.
1913 M. Penrose Dorothy Dale in City x. 96 Others stood attentively and sympathetically looking on while they searched all over the car.
1992 O. Clark Diary 9 May (1998) 334 I've searched and searched—I've looked high, I've looked low.
b. intransitive. With after. To look for (someone or something) carefully or thoroughly; to seek. Frequently, esp. in modern use, with object of the preposition referring to a desired condition or outcome, e.g. happiness, truth, wisdom.
ΚΠ
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. l. 3132 (MED) He gan cerche þoruȝ þe regioun After þe place..Where-as þe kyng helde his se royal.
1519 D. James tr. Catherine of Siena Orcharde of Syon (de Worde) v. iv. sig. t.iiij/1 They sholde serche [?a1425 Harl. seeke] after meke men & poore for to auaunce them.
1561 T. Becon Sycke Mans Salve 268 The holy Apostle also counselleth vs to be modest, & sober, and that we be not curious to searche after the knowledge of things, which passe our capacitie.
1649 Bp. J. Hall Humble Motion to Parl. 15 God who is abstract wisdome, and delights that his rationall creatures should search after it.
1750 T. Edwards Canons Crit. (ed. 3) viii. 77 Here our Profess'd Critic, in order to introduce a supersubtle and forced explanation of his own, is searching after knots in a bulrush.
1867 Argosy Mar. 250 Little did Robert think that such was his need—that his soul was searching after Him.
1932 H. V. Lovett in H. H. Dodwell Cambr. Hist. Brit. Empire V. vi. 99 Grant in England and Carey and Hare in Bengal were searching after new courses of education.
2006 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 39 15 Philosophers and physicians search after causes.
c. intransitive. With for. To look for (someone or something) carefully or thoroughly; to make efforts to find; to seek.to search for — is the most common expression used to express the search for a particular person or thing from at least the 17th century. Cf. sense 11 and to search out 2 at Phrasal verbs.
ΚΠ
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 119 (MED) Many þingis þe which shoulde be knowen be some tyme vnknowen, outhir be negligence to conne it, or be slownes in asking it, or be shame to serche for it.
?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Cij They haue non yryn wherby they shuld in the yerth myne To serch for any wore.
1583 E. Fenton in E. G. R. Taylor Troublesome Voyage Capt. Edw. Fenton (1959) 139 We rommaged in thold to serche for our Leake but could not finde it, albeit we hadde a weepinge of water in the laborde quarter.
1664 J. Beale in R. Boyle Corresp. 18 Jan. (2001) II. 244 The best helpe may be from the boaring Instrument by which they search for Marle, coale & stone.
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle II. xlv. 55 A warrant..to search for and retrieve the fugitive.
1815 M. Elphinstone Acct. Kingdom Caubul iii. vi. 458 During the day, they issue forth in swarms to search for forage and fire-wood.
a1882 C. Darwin Effects Cross & Self Fertilisation Veg. Kingdom (1916) xi. 418 They often search for nectar in flowers which do not secrete any.
1933 Los Angeles Times 17 Mar. i. 7 (advt.) Registration of patterns of China, Glassware, Silverware, as selected by brides is kept in the respective sections for the reference of those searching for gifts.
1968 New Scientist 21 Nov. 415/2 They will be searching for a new integral approach to biology.
2001 N. Griffiths Sheepshagger 123 [He] stares up at the cracked and webby raftered ceiling as if searching for an answer there.
2020 @DanaBougon 14 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 20 Apr. 2020) Now I've got my poor husband searching everywhere for toilet paper.
2.
a. transitive. To look around (a place, area, etc.) in order to find someone or something; to explore (somewhere) in search of someone or something. Later also figurative, with reference to a person's memory or thought processes (see, e.g., quots. 1587, 1983).This sense and sense 2b taken together constitute the most common use in most periods (but compare sense 1 which is also very common in all periods and may be marginally more common in modern English). These two senses are not usually distinguished from one another in dictionaries; however, this distinction is important with regard to the early development of search, because in French the sense ‘to look around (a place) for someone or something’ apparently develops from an earlier sense ‘to roam around, explore (a place)’, and the idea of roaming remains prominent in Middle English even where the principal idea is looking or seeking. The abovementioned earlier French sense is also borrowed into Middle English, but is first attested slightly later: see sense 14.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search (a place)
seekc1230
searcha1382
lay1560
ferret1582
sift1611
inquire?1615
hunt1712
screenge1825
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxxi. 37 Heuenus shul moun be mesured fro aboue, and be serched [a1425 L.V. be souȝt out; L. investigari] the foundemens of the erthe bynethe.
c1390 King of Tars (Vernon) l. 903 in Englische Studien (1889) 11 56 Þou scholdest come wiþ oute bost And serche vche cuntray.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ii. xi. 118 To toune agane I sped with all my mycht..Wilfull all aventuris newlingis to assay, And for to serce Troy, every streit, and way.
a1525 Crying ane Playe 162 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 154 Gar serss baith louthiane & fyf And vale to me a mekle wyf.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xxviiiv When the erle had searched all the coaste of Fraunce, and had founde not one pirate or sea robber.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xv. 282 [He] needeth no teacher to teache it him ageine, but onely..to search his memorie for the finding againe of that which he had layd vp there.
1611 Bible (King James) Num. xiii. 2 Send thou men, that they may search the lande of Canaan. View more context for this quotation
1689 England's Joy for taking off Chimney-money (single sheet) (verso) There is not one Old Dame in Ten, and search the Nation through; But when you talk of Chimney Men, shall spare a Curse or two.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 11 Nov. 249 Another searches the world for tulips.
1860 Welcome Guest 1 420/2 The boy clapped his hands, as though having searched his memory, he had at length found what he sought.
1884 R. Dowling Last Call II. viii. 244 He could find no trace of his father. He set half-a-dozen men to search the town quietly.
1975 Black World Aug. 69/2 After dinner they called and searched the streets, fearful that he had been hit by a car.
1983 B. Kaye Heart Divided vi. 133 Mona searched her brain for something, anything, to say, but her mind was blank.
2020 @TomLeyGreaves 20 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 30 Apr. 2020) The only place I could find rice after searching all the supermarkets in town was the Eastern European food shop.
b. transitive. To examine (a building or other confined or restricted area) carefully or thoroughly in order to find someone or something lost or hidden. In later use often: to conduct a search of (a premises, vehicle, etc.) in order to uncover evidence of a crime.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search a place or receptacle thoroughly
asearch1382
searcha1387
ransacka1400
ripea1400
upripe?a1400
riflec1400
ruffle1440
gropea1529
rig1572
rake1618
rummage1621
haul1666
fish1727
call1806
ratch1859
to turn over1859
to go through ——1861
rifle1894
rancel1899
to take apart1920
fine-tooth comb1949
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > investigate, examine [verb (transitive)] > look through, examine
oversee1348
searcha1387
laita1400
overlooka1400
to look overc1400
to run through ——c1449
oversearch1532
overview1549
tumble1597
coursea1616
perquest1892
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 443 (MED) Houses were besiliche y-serched ȝif out myȝt be y-founde.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 25 He serchid all the palais of kyng lichaon, and maad thepiriens to sease his richesses.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings xx. 6 Tomorow aboute this tyme wil I sende my seruauntes vnto the, yt they maye serch thyne house.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 167 The Magistrats haid bein cersing the College and my hous for me.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 147 Helpe to search my house this one time: if I find not what I seeke, shew no colour for my extremity. View more context for this quotation
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) i. 47 They..will search every Coach for you with Torches.
1715 R. Nelson Addr. Persons of Quality p. xi He searched his Scrittoir for something further to give me.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 161. ⁋9 The constable..demanded to search the garrets.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 72 Even now they search the tower, and find the body.
1843 E. A. Poe Purloined Let. in Gift 1845 50 When G— detailed to us his mode of searching the premises.
1925 Amer. Mercury July 269/2 I thought I'd sent this back to you so the dicks won't get it when they search the room.
2013 C. Cook Time Flies vi. 40 I searched the garage, finally settling on two relatively clean brooms.
2013 N.Y. Times 10 Jan. (Late ed.) a20/2 After receiving a tip, investigators searched the apartment..and confiscated..two shotguns, 60 shotgun shells and a flare launcher.
c. transitive. To examine or inspect (a person or his or her clothes, pockets, bags, etc.) in order to find any concealed items. Now usually with reference to searches undertaken by police officers, security guards, etc., to find stolen or prohibited items or uncover evidence of a crime; cf. search n. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search (a person)
ransacka1325
search1474
frisk1789
to rub down1825
grope1837
to run the rule over1865
fan1927
to pat down1943
screen1951
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. v. 62 The Iayler serchid her that she shold bere no mete ne drynke to her moder.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 2770 And also that ye wel provyde To cerche hem wel on euery syde, Thys synful folk, with pakkys large.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xii. 200 Another, as oft as he went to bed with his wife, searched her whether she had not a knife hidden in her bosome or about her.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1646 (1955) II. 491 The Officers search'd us th<o>roughly for prohibited goods.
1725 J. Swift Wood the Iron-monger in Wks. (1735) II. 364 They search't his Pockets on the Place, And found his Copper all was base.
1773 Morning Post 23 Aug. Upon searching him, upwards of twenty handkerchiefs were found upon him together with a lock-picker.
1843 E. A. Poe Purloined Let. in Gift 1845 46 He has been twice waylaid..and his person rigorously searched under my own inspection.
1891 E. T. Olver & T. E. O'Reilly Imperial Tariff 82 A power is given to officers of the Board to search persons suspected of concealing prohibited goods about their persons.
1941 Harvard Law Rev. 54 610 The right to question and search suspects not yet arrested.
2001 C. Beer in H. Marks Bk. Dope Stories iv. 354 The door team..took him to the security office and searched him.
3. † a. transitive. To seek understanding or knowledge of (a subject, situation, etc.) through close examination or careful consideration; to inquire into the truth or falsehood of (a proposition, statement, etc.); to investigate, analyse, study. Obsolete.† c. transitive. With interrogative clause as object: to investigate, inquire, or consider (what, whether, how, etc.). Obsolete.archaic and poetic in quot. 1880.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > try, test [verb (transitive)]
cuneOE
afondOE
found1340
searcha1382
experiment1481
experience1541
probe1542
try1545
invent1548
sound1589
to bring or put to the test1594
plumb1599
to feel out1600
essay1656
test1748
plumb-line1875
to try out1888
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > investigate, examine [verb (transitive)]
underseekc897
speerc900
lookeOE
askOE
seeOE
teem witnessc1200
seeka1300
fand13..
inquirec1300
undergoc1315
visit1338
pursuea1382
searcha1382
examinec1384
assay1387
ensearchc1400
vesteyea1425
to have in waitc1440
perpend1447
to bring witnessc1475
vey1512
investigate?1520
recounta1530
to call into (also in) question1534
finger1546
rip1549
sight1556
vestigatea1561
to look into ——1561
require1563
descry?1567
sound1579
question1590
resolve1593
surview1601
undersearch1609
sift1611
disquire1621
indagate1623
inspect1623
pierce1640
shrive1647
in-looka1649
probe1649
incern1656
quaeritate1657
inquisite1674
reconnoitre1740
explore1774
to bring to book1786
look-see1867
scrutate1882
to shake down1915
sleuth1939
screen1942
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > find out by investigation [verb (transitive)]
seekc900
seeOE
searcha1382
takea1382
inquire1390
undergrope?a1412
explore1531
to pry out1548
to scan out1548
to hunt out1576
sound1596
exquire1607
pervestigate1610
pump1611
trace1642
probe1649
to hunt up1741
to pick a person's brains (also brain)1770
verify1801
to get a load of1929
sus1966
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Judith viii. 33 I wile þat ȝee serchen [a1425 L.V. enquere] my deede.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 11 (MED) At þe laste he wente for to serche and enquere þe cause of þe gravel þat is in þe see strond.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1328 (MED) Of þe quelled dere a querre þay maked..Serched hem at þe asay summe þat þer were, Two fyngeres þay fonde of þe fowlest of alle.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. v. 78 Eneas..kest his eyn about delyuerly, Thai stedis all to serchyn and espy; Sa fair placis to se.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 56 These [men of warre] used to send out in lesser boates some bodies of men, to search the Barkes, whether they be friends or not.
1655 W. Nicholson Plain Expos. Catech. 58 For he will try, sift, search all things, and without flattery or favour proceed according to every mans works.
b. intransitive. With into (formerly in, of). To inquire into (a matter, subject, issue, etc.); to look into, investigate.
ΚΠ
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 5 (MED) If þere be many..as in an holwe bocche..apostemede..it byhoueþ forsoþe to serche [L. scrutari] in suche complicaciouns or foldynges togedre.
a1500 (a1477) Black Bk. (Soc. of Antiquaries) in A. R. Myers Househ. Edward IV (1959) 141 This clerk serchith also of the good rulez and of riottes that ben vsed in the cuntrey..and hit reportith to the steward..of houshold.
1571 J. Chillester tr. ‘Chelidonius Tigurinus’ Inst. Christian Princes xiii. 184 If we will be curious to search into the secretes of the auncient histories, we shal finde more stranger things.
1627 G. Hakewill Apologie iii. vii. §4. 226 These beasts which thou seest I cut vp, not because I hate the workes of God, but to search into the nature of gall & choller.
a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. i. 449 He never thinks of the beauty of the thought or language, but is for searching into what he calls the Erudition of the Author.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vii. iv. 354 To see so many Judiths,..rushing out to search into the root of the matter.
1905 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 608/2 Without searching into all the available data it is impossible definitely to disprove Lord Kenyon's statement, but he gave no figures whatever in support of it.
2018 Malta Independent (Nexis) 16 Jan. Listening to both sides of a story and sometimes even actively searching into it is perhaps the most important part.
ΚΠ
1500 in E. Beveridge Burgh Rec. Dunfermline (1917) I. 108 Ane warde of the haill court to sers and se gif at scho wes nerrest and lauchfull air to hir fadir.
c1500 (a1473) Syon Additions Sisters (Arundel) in J. Hogg Rewyll Seynt Sauioure (1980) IV. iii. 8 If any..besyly and curyously serche, what other sustres or brethren speke betwene themselfe.
1577 W. Fulke Two Treat. against Papistes ii. i. ix. 131 The rest of this chapter is so vainly consumed, in serching how the perfect men shall passe through purgatory and feele it not, that it is not worth the aunswering.
1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 1 To search what many modern Ianua's and Didactics more then ever I shall read, have projected, my inclination leads me not.
1795 H. F. Offley R. Brothers 28 Now let us with equal candour search how far his appearance and actions are conformable with those that must necessarily constitute an impostor and an anarchist.
1880 New Eng. Jrnl. Educ. 13 May 307/1 They probe the starry mysteries, And spell the secret of the seas, Search how the fiery Sun began, And whence was Earth,—and what is Man.
4.
a. transitive. To look through, study, or consult (writings, books, etc.); (now) esp. to make a search of (official records or archives). Cf. search n. 3a.Occasionally also intransitive, esp. in relation to searching of official records or archives, often with what is sought specified following for. Cf. sense 1c.
ΚΠ
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 41 Ivlius Cesar..lokede and serchede stories and bookes of his ȝeres of doynge and dedes.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. l. 3389 (MED) Who-so liste..cerchen bokes y-write longe a-forn, He shal fynde þat he is iustly born To regne in Fraunce by lyneal discent.
1454–9 J. Fastolf in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 190 I have do sergeed among myn evidence and I have wel founde a releas of Nycolas Bockyng of my mees and londes in Castre.
1526 W. Tyndale Prol. to N.T. John v. 39 Searche the scriptures, for in them ye thynke ye have eternal lyfe.
1561 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1857) III. 502 Oure attentik Registaris bukis of Armes beand sersit and ryplie auisit with be ws.
1664 J. Exton Maritime Dicæol. Ded. sig. aiijv Having some time since in those sad and distracted times, bestowed some labour in searching and perusing..the Records.
1685 tr. Horace Epistles i. xviii, in J. Dryden Sylvæ 434 Amongst all other things do not omit To search the Writings of great Men of Wit.
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 22 I have been at the trouble to search the Journals in the period between the two last wars.
1865 Ann. Rep. Comptroller State N.Y. 3 Jan. 45 As these non-resident lands are sold by brief descriptions,..a purchaser cannot ascertain by searching any records whether they are mortgaged or not.
1945 Eng. Jrnl. 34 543/1 A report on ‘Five New Words and How I Used Them’, with a warning to pick useful words and not to search the dictionary for rareties.
1972 Real Estate Settlement Costs: Hearings before Comm. on Banking & Currency (U.S. House of Representatives, 92nd Congr., 2nd Sess.) ii. 943 The title insurance company does not itself search for title.
2013 Daily Tel. 19 Oct. 4/2 Councils across the country are believed to be using ‘avoidance inspectors’ to search financial records to look for deliberate attempts to hide wealth.
b. To look for information on (a database, the internet, etc.) by using a search engine or similar function; to perform a search (search n. 3c) on or for.
(a) transitive with a database, the internet, etc., as object.
ΚΠ
1949 Pop. Mech. Mar. 166/1 For each point it [sc. the computer] will be instructed to search the soundings in its memory.
1976 Computerworld 19 July 25/4 The terminal ‘asks’ whether the operator wants to search the computer or the film files for individual persons.
1983 PC Dec. 371/3 The entirety of each database can be searched using key words or combinations of words.
2001 S. Doheny-Farina Grid & Village p. viii I searched the Web for a variety of online reports about the storm.
2017 New Scientist 15 Apr. 16/2 Photo apps from Google and Apple allow people to search their image collections using terms like ‘food’ or ‘baby’.
(b) intransitive. Frequently with the information sought or the search term used specified following for (cf. sense 1c).
ΚΠ
1958 Jrnl. Acad. Managem. 1 No. 2. 26 This word is stored while the computer searches for the English translation of ‘Buch’.
1982 InfoWorld 26 July 45/1 For example, if..you search for hamburger surprise, FileManager will find that recipe and display it within two seconds.
2002 Toronto Star (Nexis) 1 Dec. f5 Try searching on eBay or other Internet auction sites.
2017 K. Shamsie Home Fire i. 6 The man clicked keys on her laptop, examining her browser history. He knew that..she had searched for ‘how to make small talk with Americans.’
(c) transitive. With the subject of the search, esp. a search term, as object. Cf. to search up 1 at Phrasal verbs.
ΚΠ
1985 Occup. Health Nursing 33 314/2 Searching Nursing & Allied Health (CINAHL) instead of the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE offers many advantages... The topic ‘clinical ladder’ demonstrates this advantage. In Nursing & Allied Health..you can search the term directly.
2007 N. Rosen How to live Off-grid iii. 45 People search the Internet by typing terms into Google, and terms like ‘Cameron Diaz’ are searched more often than ‘composting loo’.
2019 @cashcash 8 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 11 Nov. 2019) Uploaded a bunch of new gifs to instagram. search ‘cash cash’ to check em all out!!
5.
a. transitive. To examine or reflect rigorously on (one's conscience, thoughts, feelings, etc.) in order to discover the truth about oneself, esp. to identify one's sins and failings. Formerly also: to scrutinize or see into (another's thoughts, motives, or conduct).In the 16th and 17th centuries often in to search and sift: see note at Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > spirituality > mind, soul, spirit, heart > introspection > direct inwards [verb (transitive)] > examine one's soul
examine1340
to search outa1382
searcha1400
soul-search1946
a1400 Siege Jerusalem (Laud) (1932) l. 339 Þe cite haþ [vs] sent to serche ȝour wille, To here þe cause of ȝour comyng, [& what] ȝe coueyte wolde.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Hengwrt) (2003) §439 The sciences and the Iugementz of oure lord god almyghty been ful depe, ther may no man coperhende ne serchen hem suffisantly.
1538 Bp. J. Longland Serm. Good Frydaye sig. H.ii Let euery man proue hym selfe, serche his conscyence, pourge his soule.
1661 A. Burgess Expository Comment 1st Chap. 2 Cor. lxvii. 298 Let then the Children of God examine and search their hearts more in this particular.
a1720 E. Bury Diary i, in Acct. Life & Death Mrs. E. Bury (1720) 68 I searched my Heart and Ways by reflecting on many Years past.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound iii. iii. 105 And we will search..For hidden thoughts..Our unexhausted spirits.
1888 Path Jan. 307 He continues meditate and to search his soul.
1996 Vancouver Sun 9 May c7/1 I have searched my conscience and my heart and find that I cannot accept this nomination.
b. transitive. To reveal the true nature of (a person, a person's heart, etc.) by subjecting to severe demands; to test the mettle of; to try. Also (now usually): to affect or trouble (someone) deeply; to prompt (someone) to soul-searching.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > try or test [verb (transitive)] > specifically of an impersonal agency
search1565
1565 J. Calfhill Aunswere Treat. Crosse f. 38 For the word in operation is as forcible as a sweard: it moueth, it rauisheth, it renueth men: it pearceth to the heart, it searcheth the secret places, it entreth through..euen vnto the deuiding asunder of the soule and of the spirits.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. B2, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) The will is searched by the outward qualitie or condition, by a readines..or mislike to a thing.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Custome of Countrey ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Aa3/2 Prosperity does search a Gentlemans temper, More then his adverse fortune.
1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 16 For scorn whose arrows search the heart, From many a stranger's eye would dart.
1905 Horse Rev. 8 Aug. 884/2 He was searched for this half to see whether he still had his speed and as a ‘feeler’ for the relay race.
1906 Saturday Evening Post 19 May 20/2 Ridicule—universal and remorseless derision! The thought of it searched him through and through.
2015 S. R. Donaldson King's Justice (e-book ed.) Had I been so reckless? Well, then. Here was one that searched me to the core of my private desires.
c. transitive. To focus one's gaze intently on (someone or something), esp. so as to penetrate beneath superficial appearance to true motives, feelings, etc.; to look searchingly at.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > examine or inspect
through-lookc1175
spyc1325
to see overc1475
to see over ——1490
view1544
overview1549
sight1556
pervise1577
speculate1616
study1616
to have (also take) a look1673
to have a look1725
to eye over1795
scan1798
search1811
survey1860
skin1876
1811 A. Boswell Clan-Alpin's Vow ii. 33 Fierce Malcolm watched the passing scene, And searched them through with glances keen.
1869 A. J. Evans Vashti xxxi. 436 While he drank, his eyes searched her face, and lingered admiringly on her beautiful hand.
1919 Everybody's Mag. Jan. 21/3 He..searched her with smoldering eyes, then he held her hard against him.
2014 J. S. Eicher Seeing your Face Again 200 Did he like her kiss? Ida searched his face for affirmation in the dim light.
6. transitive. To inspect or examine the tools, materials, workmanship, etc., of (a member or employee of a guild) in order to verify that they conform to regulations or customary standards; to inspect (goods, materials, equipment, etc.) for this purpose. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > scrutinize [verb (transitive)]
through-seekOE
gropea1250
to search outa1382
ensearch1382
boltc1386
examinea1387
ransackc1390
ripea1400
search1409
overreach?a1425
considerc1425
perquirec1460
examec1480
peruse?1520
grounda1529
study1528
oversearch1532
perscrute1536
scrute1536
to go over ——1537
scan1548
examinate1560
rifle1566
to consider of1569
excuss1570
ripe1573
sift1573
sift1577
to pry into ——1581
dive1582
rub1591
explore1596
pervestigate1610
dissecta1631
profound1643
circumspect1667
scrutinize1671
perscrutatea1679
introspect1683
rummage1690
reconnoitre1740
scrutinate1742
to look through1744
scrutiny1755
parse1788
gun1819
cat-haul1840
vivisect1876
scour1882
microscope1888
tooth-comb1893
X-ray1896
comb1904
fine-tooth comb1949
1409 in M. Sellers York Memorandum Bk. (1915) II. 178 (MED) No person..sall sett upp no shopp nor occupy als maistre..before..he be dewly and trewly serched and funden and approved.
1440 in W. H. Black Hist. & Antiq. Worshipful Company of Leathersellers (1871) 24 (MED) No man..go..with no tawed lethir..to ony feire..oute of this Cite, lasse than the seid Wardeins of Lethersellers seene and serche it before or it go.
1465–6 in C. Welch Hist. Pewterers of London (1902) I. 33 (MED) It wasth A cordyt that þe craft schulde go to gedyr And to..serch the iij olde maystres.
1565 in Trans., Excursions, & Rep. 1877 (1881) (Archæol. Section Birmingham & Midland Inst.) 34 The Searchers to have full power to search all cloth wrought in the country and brought hither, and to seize such as shall be deceitfully wrought.
1961 H. Richardson Medieval Fairs & Markets of York 32 Gilds to search the goods before they were sold, so maintaining the quality and price control previously discussed.
a. transitive. To perform an examination or inspection of (a person or part of the body), e.g. for the purpose of medical diagnosis; spec. to examine (a woman) for signs of pregnancy. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > examination > examine medically [verb (transitive)]
searcha1425
visit1484
examine?1541
to run the rule over1909
to work up1931
a1425 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Linc. Inn) (1973) l. 1495 He comaunded hise men alle His chaumburleyn to brynge in halle Anon hire serchede..And a womman heo was founde.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 12 (MED) He said he wolde serge hur hym selfe, & so he did, & he cuthe not fynde in her no synge þat sho sulde be with childe.
1592 T. Lodge Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie sig. M3v When the Surgion searcht him, held hee his woundes dangerous?
1628 in J. Irving Hist. Dumbartonshire (1920) II. 37 [Janet Neill to be] tryit and examinat and serchit gif sche hes the devillis mark on her body.
1692 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 399 The maid was search'd and found to be with child.
1739 E. Purefoy Let. 3 Mar. (1931) I. vi. 138 She is very forward with child, she denyed it and I was forced to have a midwife search her.
b. transitive. To examine (a person) by questioning; to interrogate. Obsolete (rare after 17th cent.).It is not clear whether quot. 1901 represents a survival of older use in a regional context or a re-formation by analogy with sense 2c or searching adj. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > interrogation > question, interrogate [verb (transitive)]
afraynec1380
speera1400
refraynea1450
searcha1450
questiona1470
interrogate1483
interrogue1484
demanda1513
pose1526
ferret1582
shrive1592
samen?1620
query1653
quiza1843
hackle1891
rag1908
a1450 York Plays (1885) 311 (MED) For sir Heroude will serche hym full sore.
c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 7 (MED) Goo ye and so serche prisoners, and thei that wolle beleve vpon our lawe, thei schall be worschipped with vs.
1575 tr. L. Daneau Dialogue Witches iv. sig. K.j Wise and diligent Iudges haue herein a special regarde, to come vpon them sodainly, before they be looked for, to search and try them.
1680 E. Cellier Malice Defeated 22 Sir John Nicholas came that Night to search and examine me, I told him the Truth.
1901 G. F. Savage-Armstrong Ballads of Down 135 She'll s'arch ye wi' questions.
8. transitive. To determine the nature and extent of (a wound or sore), esp. by touch or with a probe. Cf. explore v. 4b, probe v. 4. Frequently (and now chiefly) in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > examination > examine medically [verb (transitive)] > by touch > probe
seeka1300
search?a1425
sound1598
tent1598
probe1656
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 95 in Middle Eng. Dict. at Serchen It is good þat a Surgene..serche wiþ his tastoure no wounde þat passes þurȝoute þe braine panne.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 3132 To serche þaire saluys & þar saris with surgens noble.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxxii. 664 And the wounded lete hem be ledde to townes, and serched theire sores.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 262 Now to the bottome dost thou search my wound. View more context for this quotation
a1625 J. Fletcher Valentinian i. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Aaaaaaa2v/1 You search the soare too deep.
a1631 J. Donne Poems (1633) 150 So..nice in searching wounds the Surgeon is.
1795 J. Bell Disc. Nature & Cure Wounds ii. i. 8 But when the surgeon thrusts in his finger to search the wound, he feels hot blood.
1911 E. Mason French Mediaeval Romances from Lays of Marie de France ii. 12 This only was clear, that if the lady refused to search his wound, death, for him, was sure and speedy.
1957 Poetry 89 283 None needed the clock's finger To search his wound.
2004 PMLA 119 240/2 Stephen Greenblatt suggests that Tamburlaine's invitation to the boys to search the wound parodies Thomas's exploration of the wound in Christ's side.
9. transitive. To have a powerful or penetrating effect on (someone or something), often in an unpleasant or undesirable way; to penetrate deeply into. Frequently with reference to the cold, wind, rain, etc. Cf. searching adj. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come into [verb (transitive)] > penetrate
thirlc1175
delve?c1225
piercec1325
entera1500
penetrate1530
search1594
job1603
breaka1616
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. N3 They basted him with a mixture of Aqua fortis, allam water, and Mercury sublimatum, which..searcht him to the marrowe.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 36 But now perhaps being searcht to the quicke.
1822 Ld. Byron Werner i. i. 723 The ice-wind..Searching the shivering vassal through his rags.
1903 H. Kingsford in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 309/2 'E've took another draught on it [sc. medicine] an' 't 'ave begun to search him.
1910 G. Gibbs Tony's Wife vi. 64 The brown waters of the creek, purple in the shadow and deep topaz where the sunlight searched its depths.
1991 P. J. Willis No Clock in Forest ii. 26 The wind searched him to an aching core, and he clenched and shivered with bony cold.
10. Military.
a. transitive. To subject the whole of (an area) to artillery fire.
ΚΠ
1829 W. F. Napier Hist. War Peninsula II. ix. ii. 394 The guns of the first corps..were enabled..to search the whole of the British line to the left.
1882 Hampshire Advertiser 12 Apr. 4/5 The height slopes from Purbrook down to Cosham would be so completely searched by artillery fire from the Hilsea batteries that no column could have lived under their deadly storm.
1915 Sunday Chron. 3 Jan. 10/1 The area behind our front line was searched by the hostile artillery.
1944 Times 31 Jan. 3/1 Later, when the German position had been searched with artillery fire, a platoon crept forward.
2017 J. Sheehan Harrogate Terriers viii. 151 The atmosphere was not improved by the constant attrition caused by enemy artillery searching Thiepval Wood.
b. intransitive. Of artillery: to fire repeatedly on an area, esp. in an attempt to hit a particular target.Frequently with the target specified following for, e.g. German artillery searched for Allied guns. Cf. sense 1c.
ΚΠ
1855 E. B. Hamley Story Campaign Sebastopol xxxii. 338 The tremendous fire of the Allied artillery, searching through the town and works with an enormous destruction of life, could not be much longer supported.
1906 W. Maxwell From Yalu to Port Arthur 256 But the country was broken and the corn was uncut, and though the enemy's guns searched for them again and again they passed unscathed.
2004 R. H. Farquharson For Your Tomorrow vi. 60 Japanese aircraft harassed them by day and mortar fire and artillery searched for them at night.
II. To look for (something or someone); to seek. See also sense 1c.
11. transitive. To look for or seek (someone or something); to make efforts to find or discover. Now chiefly South Asian.Only in nonstandard or regional use from the mid 18th century: see the more usual to search for — (sense 1c); to search out (to search out 2 at Phrasal verbs) is widely used in modern English.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)]
seekc888
aseekc1000
i-secheOE
huntc1175
to seek afterc1175
beseechc1200
fand?c1225
ofseche?c1225
to seek forc1250
atseekc1275
furiec1290
forseeka1300
outseekc1300
upseekc1315
to look after ——c1330
wait1340
laita1350
searchc1350
pursuea1382
ensearchc1384
to feel and findc1384
inseekc1384
looka1398
fraist?a1400
umseeka1400
require?c1400
walec1400
to look up1468
prowla1475
to see for ——c1485
to look for ——a1492
to have in the wind1540
sue1548
vent?1575
seek1616
explore1618
dacker1634
research1650
to see out for1683
quest1752
to see after ——1776
c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1906) 14* Wo-so wole house..Riche and wys..At his wytyngge..Serche a gode grounde.
c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) 144 (MED) Þe Meir let serchen hym so longe Til he was founden in þe gonge, fful depe I-drouned in fulþe of fen.
1432 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. May 1432 §38. m. 6 In diverses countres, comen the auneours..and forfete certeyne clothes so before mesurid..serchyng ageyn the lengthe and brede; and in þis wyse grevousely vexen the marchauntes.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iv. l. 202 He sente oute letteris on-to euery Iustice To serche the cristene, to hange hem and to-drawe.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 330 And thenne geffray cerched the keyes so longe tyl he fonde them.
1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. v. x. 205 The dere ar constrenit to discend fra þe montanis to þe planis to serch þair fude.
1571 T. Digges in L. Digges's Geom. Pract.: Pantometria xiii. sig. Zj Octaedrons side giuen to searche his superficiall and solide contente.
1608 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 533/11 Item for Cherching moles in lyttle parke ij s. vj d.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. vi. 11 He hath bin search'd among the dead, & liuing; But no trace of him. View more context for this quotation
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vi. 109 These [Bishops] were searched and sought out through the whole Nation..among such of the Priesthood as were..most distinguished.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Day-dream in Poems (new ed.) II. 162 My fancy, ranging thro' and thro', To search a meaning for the song.
1908 A. S. M. Hutchinson Once aboard Lugger i. i. 23 Bent double into a bush one day, searching a tennis ball, he heard his name bawled up and down the courts.
2013 tanqeed.com (accessed 10 Dec. 2019) Mother desperately searches the real killer in order to prove her son's innocence.
12. † a. transitive. To devise (the means to achieve an end that one seeks), esp. in a way that is deceitful or scheming; to invent, contrive. Also intransitive (see quot. c1540): to plot, scheme. Obsolete.Often with infinitive clause as object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > make an attempt or endeavour [verb (intransitive)] > to do something
cuneOE
seekc1000
fanda1225
suec1325
tastec1330
enforcec1340
study1340
temptc1384
intendc1385
assaila1393
proffera1393
to make meansc1395
search?a1400
fraistc1400
pursuec1400
to go aboutc1405
pretend1482
attempta1513
essay?1515
attend1523
regarda1533
offer1541
frame1545
to stand about1549
to put into (also in) practice1592
prove1612
imitate1626
snap1766
begin1833
make1880
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 6487 Now gos Turbeuile & serchis day bi day to do þe kyng a gile.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 7920 (MED) Sondri weies þei cerched han & souȝt In her wittes how..Þei may remewe towarde Troye toun.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lxvi. 229 He saw wel his brother serched all that he coude to fall at debate with hym.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 169v Antenor & Eneas with þaire avne sons Serchid by hom selyuyn in sauyng hor lyues.
1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. 100 Thair counsell is to seirche and to Inquyre, The Innocent with wrang for till accuse.
b. transitive. To try to obtain (something advantageous); to try to bring about (a desired state of affairs, condition, etc.). Cf. seek v. 7a.
ΚΠ
c1450 ( J. Walton tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Linc. Cathedral 103) 173 (MED) Graunte hym..Þat souereyn see to serchen and atteyne; here perfite goodenesse haþ his propre place.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 78 (MED) Thei serche their confort by false singnes.
1568 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Dial Princes (rev. ed.) i. xxxiii. f. 48 How shal we beleue thou searchest profite to thy frends, sithe that of thyne olde frendes thou haste made newe enemies?
a1586 J. Maitland in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 287 It is bot slychtis ȝe haue seirsit To cloik þe crafte quhairto ȝe ar Inclynd.
1635 R. Sibbes Soules Conflict (ed. 2) xxiii. 533 We must neglect no help, for God oft suspends his comfort, till wee have searched all our helps.
1755 J. Shebbeare Lett. on Eng. Nation II. xxxvi. 87 It is the condition of feeble man to search relief from such objects.
1898 H. F. Keenan Conflict with Spain ii. iii. 221 Toward one o'clock the Spaniard slowed down as if searching shelter landward.
1938 K. P. Kirkwood Renaissance in Japan iv. 136 He went to search his fortune in the Shogun's capital at Yedo.
2013 H. Ekstedt Money in Econ. Theory ii. 27 The church was reluctant to accept a value reflecting exchange conditions since that was close to retail trade, which Aristotle condemns as a form of greediness, searching gain for its own sake.
13. transitive. With infinitive clause as object. To attempt or strive (to do something); to make it one's aim. Cf. seek v. 11a.
ΚΠ
?1531 R. Barnes Supplic. Kinge Henrye VIII f. lxxxj Here wylle we serche what strength ys in man..for to wyll or to doo those thynges that be acceptable a fore god..this is ye thinge that we wylle serche to knowe.
?1575 C. Vitell tr. H. Niclaes Reuelatio Dei xxiii. f. 41v Had now the Man with the Prouidence, remayned standinge in my Woorde, Light, or Beeinge: and not searched, for to knowe anythinge more.
1595 J. Davis Seamans Secrets i. sig. C1v You must also by your Regiment or other tables, search to know the declination of that body which you obserue.
1703 J. Trapp Trag. King Saul v. 57 Searching to read thy Fortune bad or good, I found it writ in Characters of Blood.
1832 tr. M. Luther Table Talk 151 Abstain from speculating, and searching to know and to seek God the Lord, as well what His essence is.
1934 C. W. Hendel Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Moralist xvii. 129 Such reasonings..could not satisfy Rousseau who was searching to define the meaning of Providence so that it would include a more real consideration of the individual man.
2000 F. E. Mascia-Lees & P. Sharpe Taking Stand in Postfeminist World iii. 43 I had not consciously thought this until I searched to describe the baby to Susan who had been an anthropology undergraduate with me.
14. transitive. To travel through, roam around, or explore (a land, a place); spec. (with reference to a conquering force) to overrun, occupy. Obsolete. to search (a place) about: to travel around the perimeter or boundaries of (a place).
ΚΠ
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 4726 (MED) Alisaunder sercheþ þe londe, Makeþ his baillifs and his justises, Takeþ feute and ek seruises.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 841 Lymytours and othere holy freres..serchen [c1485 BL Add. 5140 sergen] euery lond and euery streem.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 210 I..haue passed many londes & manye yles & contrees & cerched manye full strange places.
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) l. 2094 (MED) Certan men I rede we send to serche the land that he hath heyȝt, And se how the folke may þem dyffend.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 26 This Cite was sothely to serche it aboute Þre iorneys full iointly to ioyne hom by dayes.
15. transitive. To attack (an enemy force, position, etc.). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 7271 (MED) Achilles, sturdy as a wal, Gan cerche scheltrouns & her rengis brake.
c1470 tr. R. D'Argenteuil's French Bible (Cleveland) (1977) 87 (MED) Vaspasian made his host to arme hem & leid strong wardis about the city on eche side, and lete serce the cite by alle the gatis, postern, dichis, & caves, and made dresse up his scaling laddirs ayens þe wallis.
Phrases
P1. to search and sift (also to sift and search): to examine or investigate (something) in minute detail; (in early use) esp. to examine or reflect rigorously on (one's conscience, thoughts, feelings, etc.) in order to identify one's sins and failings (cf. sense 5a).The use of search in this phrase is not clearly distinguishable from figurative uses of search as a variant form of searce v., perhaps indicating overlap or confusion between the two, esp. during the 16th and 17th centuries.
ΚΠ
1563 A. Neville tr. Seneca Lamentable Trag. Œdipus sig. D.vi That thus you go about to serche, and sift with tooth and nayle, Obserue the golden meane.
1595 R. Greenham Most Sweete & Assured Comfort sig. Dxv So that there is nothing harder than to sift and serch our owne hearts at the bottome, whether we respect our sins past or present.
1659 C. Gilbert Soveraign Antidote against Sinful Errors 21 Sift and search every thing by Scripture-Light, that ye may know the Truth.
1718 F. de La Pilonnière Third Defense 125 They have sifted and searched me to the very bottom of the Heart.
1881 J. Brown God's Bk. for Man's Life i. 2 The Bible is being searched and sifted severely in our time.
1992 MELUS 22 159 She began to search and sift documents from the libraries and oral recollections.
P2. colloquial (originally U.S.).
a. search me: used to imply that something, typically the answer to a question, is unknown to the speaker; ‘I don't know’, ‘I have no idea’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > be ignorant [phrase] > profess ignorance
to wit ne'era1400
this (also that, it) is news to me (him, her, etc.)1777
quien sabe1833
search me1885
ask me another1910
1885 W. D. Howells Elevator i. 27 Campbell: Where are they, then? All: That's what we don't know. Campbell: Oh, come, now! that's a little too thin. You don't know where any of all these blood-relations and connections by marriage are? Well, search me!
1901 S. Merwin & H. K. Webster Calumet ‘K’ iii. 37 ‘What's the matter with the G. & M. anyway?’ ..‘Search me,’ said Denis.
1965 G. Jones Island of Apples ii. i. 79 Pricey lowered the corners of his mouth, lifted his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Search me,’ he said.
2007 M. Phillips Gods behaving Badly (2008) xxxvi. 240 ‘What are we supposed to do when people ask to go in?’ said the first guard. ‘Search me,’ said the second guard.
b. you can search me (also you may search me): = search me at Phrases 2a. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1896 Washington Post 30 Mar. 8/4 ‘What are they talking about?’ asked Jack. ‘Well, I don't know. You can search me,’ was the reply.
1912 L. J. Vance Destroying Angel vii ‘Where is he?’ ‘You can search me.’
1919 H. Jenkins Adventures of Bindle i. I seemed to get to understand 'em all; but women—well, you may search me!
1969 Guardian 8 Oct. 13/3 ‘Hampstead isn't a place, it's a state of mind,’ said a colleague, with all the superiority which comes from living straightforwardly in Ewell, Surrey. Well, you can search me.
P3. In adjectival, noun, and verb phrases formed with and and another verb.See also stop-and-search n. at stop v. Compounds 1 and perhaps search and rescue adj. and n.
a. search and destroy.Also hyphenated, esp. in Phrases 3a(b), Phrases 3a(c).
(a) As a verb phrase: to seek out and destroy, eradicate, or neutralize (an enemy or something hostile, harmful, or unwanted). Frequently with reference to American military strategy during the Vietnam War (see Phrases 3a(b)).Used in both transitive and intransitive constructions.
ΚΠ
1941 Daily Mail (Hull) 9 Jan. 5/3 [He] displayed determination and outstanding eagerness to search and destroy enemy night bombers at the closest range.
1975 H. J. Salemson tr. J. Bergier Secret Armies xxi. 191 A weapon specially adapted to searching and destroying trucks on the tortuous jungle roads.
1990 J. Salamone in M. Brennan Hunter-Killer Squadron (1992) iii. 19 As usual, our mission was to search and destroy.
2005 Straits Times (Singapore) (Nexis) 19 Sept. He was a man on a mission—to search and destroy breeding spots of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
(b) As an adjectival phrase: designating a military operation in which forces are sent out into hostile territory to search out the enemy and inflict as many casualties or as much damage as possible before withdrawing; of or relating to such an operation. Also in extended use with reference to attempts to eradicate or neutralize anything hostile, harmful, or unwanted.This use apparently originates in the U.S. military's own descriptions of operations and strategy during the Vietnam War.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > [adjective] > other types of operation
strongc1300
air–land1915
suicide1923
air-to-ground1935
triphibious1941
amphibious1943
black?1945
air-to-surface1954
search and destroy1964
1964 Guardian 13 Aug. 9/3 An American military spokesman said about two battalions of troops were lifted into an area near Ben Cat on what was described as a ‘search and destroy’ mission.
1966 Economist 22 Oct. 369/3 This is a different use of men from the highly mobile ‘search and destroy’ operations in which the American forces have been engaged up to now.
2000 Business Day (S. Afr.) 27 Jan. i. 11/2 Set it to update daily, so the latest search-and-destroy codes are downloaded from international laboratories as soon as they are created.
2012 R. Curley War at Sea & in Air vii. 167/1 Allied air forces also engaged in search-and-destroy missions against mobile launchers for Iraq's Scud missiles.
(c) As a noun phrase: a search and destroy mission or operation (see sense Phrases 3a(b)); (also) the action or strategy of undertaking missions or operations of this kind. Also in extended use.Chiefly with reference to American military strategy during the Vietnam War.
ΚΠ
1965 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 30 June 1/2 (caption) Map Locates D-Zone north of Saigon where U.S., Australian and South Vietnamese troops are pressing a seach-and-destroy against Viet Cong.
1966 Washington Post 22 Mar. a9/2 The object of ‘search and destroy’ was to ‘make the war so uncomfortable and unpleasant for the Vietcong’ that they will quit or negotiate.
1970 Rep. Rev. Preliminary Investig. My Lai Incident (U.S. Dept. Army) II. xx. (Michener) 53 After they made their run the rest of the company moved across the bridge, and we received orders to move out south of the bridge down a little peninsula and out on a search and destroy.
1991 N. Mailer Harlot's Ghost i. Omega vii. 57 I went along with a platoon on a search-and-destroy.
2002 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 21 Feb. a23/1 Even as..scientists race to develop ever more sophisticated methods of search-and-destroy..officials are discovering just how formidable the Asian longhorned beetle can be.
b. search and replace. Computing.
(a) As an adjectival phrase: designating a function used to systematically search though a document or a selection of text or data for a particular string of characters (or other item of data) and replace it with something else; (also) of, relating to, or involving this procedure.
ΚΠ
1968 E. G. Ulrich in Proc. 23rd ACM National Conf. 285/1 The modification or cancellation of a future event is effected indirectly by placing a ‘replacement event’ at the beginning of the appropriate string of circular list, rather than making an immediate ‘search and replace’ pass through a possibly long string.
1991 PC Mag. 16 Apr. 356/3 Follow the search-and-replace procedure, but stop when it finds the first string to delete.
2015 P. Lavin DocBook for Writers xii. 149 You may find that changes are easily scripted or performed using a simple search and replace utility.
(b) As a noun phrase: a function used to systematically search though a document or a selection of text or data for a particular string of characters (or other item of data) and replace it with something else.
ΚΠ
1976 Amer. Bar Assoc. Jrnl. 62 919/1 The Display Text Corporation's Editor has all the features available for word processing, plus dual floppy discs for instant search, a 24 k programmable memory,..global search and replace,..and automatic line number printout.
2012 J. Stroman et al. Admin. Assistant's & Secretary's Handbk xx. 240 A related function is Search and Replace. It is useful whenever a word that is scattered throughout a document must be changed.
(c) As a verb phrase: to systematically search though a document or a selection of text or data for a particular string of characters (or other item of data) and replace it with something else.
ΚΠ
1978 T. G. Lewis in Proc. 1st SIGMINI Symp. Small Syst. 12/2 A programmer is thus unable to search and replace characters.
1997 Amer. Archivist 60 432 The combinations of indents and returns already present in the electronic document were searched and replaced with strings of SGML tags.
2011 A. Couch Microsoft Access 2010 VBA Programming Inside Out i. 19 (caption) Use the Find dialog box to search and replace code fragments within a procedure, module, project, or selected text.
Phrasal verbs
With adverbs in specialized senses. to search out to search up † 2. transitive. To dig up (the ground). Obsolete.
1. transitive. To examine (something) closely; to scrutinize; esp. to examine or scrutinize (someone's thoughts, feelings, motives, etc.). Cf. sense 5a.In quot. a1382: to subject (a text) to minute scrutiny or criticism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > scrutinize [verb (transitive)]
through-seekOE
gropea1250
to search outa1382
ensearch1382
boltc1386
examinea1387
ransackc1390
ripea1400
search1409
overreach?a1425
considerc1425
perquirec1460
examec1480
peruse?1520
grounda1529
study1528
oversearch1532
perscrute1536
scrute1536
to go over ——1537
scan1548
examinate1560
rifle1566
to consider of1569
excuss1570
ripe1573
sift1573
sift1577
to pry into ——1581
dive1582
rub1591
explore1596
pervestigate1610
dissecta1631
profound1643
circumspect1667
scrutinize1671
perscrutatea1679
introspect1683
rummage1690
reconnoitre1740
scrutinate1742
to look through1744
scrutiny1755
parse1788
gun1819
cat-haul1840
vivisect1876
scour1882
microscope1888
tooth-comb1893
X-ray1896
comb1904
fine-tooth comb1949
the mind > mental capacity > spirituality > mind, soul, spirit, heart > introspection > direct inwards [verb (transitive)] > examine one's soul
examine1340
to search outa1382
searcha1400
soul-search1946
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) 1 Esdras Prol. l. 65 (MED) Reden þei þat wiln, þat wiln not kaste þei awei, & serche þei out þe lettres [L. Eventilent apices], & falsli acuse þei þe lettres.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxxxviii. A O Lorde, thou searchest me out, and knowest me.
?1590 W. Perkins Treat. Damnation or Grace To Rdr. sig. A7 It is an harde thing for a man to search out his owne heart.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. vii. 12 Search out thy wit for secret pollicies, And we will make thee famous through the World. View more context for this quotation
1672 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy (ed. 8) 101 They might always be fit to receive holy Inspirations, and always ready to search out the mind of God.
1763 C. Churchill Conference 18 Should They, abroad by Inquisitions taught, Search out my Soul, and damn me for a thought.
1842 H. E. Manning Serm. xx. 295 We feel as if we saw the tokens of His presence..; coming and going in an awful way, as if to gaze upon us, and search out our very thoughts.
1942 J. R. Rice Prayer, Asking, Receiving xix. 295 So daily, before sundown every day, search out your heart, judge every little grudge.
2009 D. W. Clanton Daring, Disreputable, & Devout v. 136 Mordecai leaves and Esther is left alone to search out her conscience.
2.
a. transitive. To look for (someone or something) until found; to make diligent efforts to find (that which one seeks).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > search about for
to search out?a1400
to look about1536
to feel after ——?1557
study1561
to feel for ——1569
to look out for1578
to lay out1624
to look round1630
to lay about1755
prospect1854
roust1870
to look around1927
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 8172 Sir Eymer had no drede, he serchid þam alle oute.
1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 5v Yong damsels thether flocke, of bachelers a rowte: Not so much for the banquets sake, as bewties to searche out.
1678 J. Dryden Ess. (1900) I. 193 I judged it both natural and probable, that Octavia..would search out Cleopatra to triumph over her.
1716 J. Perry State of Russia 62 The Czar also has Intentions to send Ships to search out the Eastermost Parts of the Caspian Sea.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Homer's Hymn to Mercury xciv, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 326 Whilst they [sc. the Fates] search out dooms, They sit apart and feed on honeycombs.
1934 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Grey Granite iii. 220 Those hill-hidden touns through the parks of which he'd searched out the flints.
2015 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 16 Aug. (Herald-Times ed.) e7/1 Social workers and volunteers..search out anyone who is described..as homeless.
b. transitive. To find out or discover (something) by close inquiry, study, scrutiny, etc.; to discover (a fact, some information, etc.). Also in early use: to devise, invent, contrive; = sense 12a. Cf. to find out 2 at find v. Phrasal verbs.Some 16th- and 17th-cent. examples with an interrogative clause as object (see, e.g., quot. 1631) could be interpreted as having the sense ‘inquire’ (cf. sense 3c) and hence as belonging to 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > inventive or creative faculty > contrive, devise, or invent [verb (transitive)]
findeOE
conceive1340
seek1340
brewc1386
divine1393
to find outc1405
to search outc1425
to find up?c1430
forgec1430
upfindc1440
commentc1450
to dream out1533
inventa1538
father1548
spina1575
coin1580
conceit1591
mint1593
spawn1594
cook1599
infantize1619
fabulize1633
notionate1645
to make upc1650
to spin outa1651
to cook up1655
to strike out1735
mother1788
to think up1855
to noodle out1950
gin1980
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > finding or discovery > find or discover [verb (transitive)] > by searching or tracking down > and bring to light
to search outc1425
to hunt out1576
unrip?1576
to ferret out1577
to fetch up1608
fish1632
prog1655
rummage1797
rout1814
exhume1819
excavate1840
ferret up1847
unearth1863
fossick?1870
exhumate1881
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) Prol. l. 163 (MED) The trewe knowyng schulde haue gon to wrak..Ne hadde oure elderis cerched out and souȝt The sothefast pyth..Of thinges passed.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 2742 (MED) Medea..hath ful streytly cerched out & souȝt A redy weye vn-to hir purpos.
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 172 (MED) The disciples of studye and of wysedom..ben applied to serge out the highnesse of the clere reioyssyng sterre.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 18 Fyrst therfor..we wyl serche out as nere as we can, what ys the veray & true Commyn wele.
1571 T. Digges in L. Digges's Geom. Pract.: Pantometria sig. Cc j v Octaedrons side giuen, to searche out all his conteyned bodies, sides, diameters and axes.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Scotl. xi. 13/2 in R. Holinshed Chron. I I haue not a litle trauayled, and with no small diligence indeuoured to search out the truth hereof.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre Induct. sig. A7 in Wks. II Any State-decipherer,..so solemnly ridiculous, as to search out, who was meant by the Ginger-bread-woman, who by the Hobby-horse-man, [etc.].
a1656 J. Hales Serm. at Eton (1673) iv. 57 Think we then to..search out those causes which God hath locked up in his secret treasures?
1692 Bp. E. Hopkins Expos. Lord's Prayer 123 There is an Exploratory Temptation, to search out and discover what is in Man.
1767 J. Gill Diss. conc. Antiq. Hebrew-Lang. iv. 212 He gave his mind to search out the meaning of every apex, tittle, and point in it.
1887 Weekly Times 25 Feb. 8/1 His primary object is to search out the truth.
1967 Canberra Times 16 Nov. 14/4 We want the Senate to conduct an inquiry to search out the facts, sift the evidence, and propose remedies for consideration by the national Parliament.
2012 R. Minjarez & M. A. Minjarez Spiritual Honey 179 You don't have to believe that, but you should at least search out what the Word of God says.
c. intransitive. With for. To make careful or thorough attempts to find or discover someone or something.
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > search for or seek [verb (transitive)] > patiently and carefully
to search out?1560
to mouse out1853
?1560 tr. J. Calvin Two Godly & Notable Serm. sig. eiiii None wyll searche out for the oryginall, when he hathe the copie autentique.
1671 tr. J. de Palafox y Mendoza Hist. Conquest of China by Tartars x. 214 They did with all diligence search out for him, menacing all persons who concealed him any longer with death.
1774 Monthly Misc. July 43/1 The spirit of the Danish laws approves not of this cruel monopoly; and industriously searches out for as many inheritors as nature has appointed.
1841 E. Maltby Charge to Clergy of Durham 7 I should act in a manner at variance with the obligations imposed by my office, if I were to search out for such topics only as I judged might be pleasing or acceptable to you.
1920 F. A. McKenzie ‘Pussyfoot’ Johnson ix. 135 We don't particularly search out for wealthy men.
2007 Horizons (British Airways) May 77 I have been obsessed with diamonds for years, searching out for rose-cuts at lowly flea markets and marquises in Fifth Avenue palaces.
1. transitive. To make a thorough or diligent investigation into or examination of (something); to find or uncover (something); (now usually) to look for information about (something) by using an internet search engine or similar function (cf. sense 4b(c)).
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?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman ii. ix. sig. i.ijv Good lorde thou hast serched vp all his bed in the tyme of his infermite.
1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. iv. vi. 401 To searche vp the causes, and secretes of Goddes sufferance.
1619 S. Smith Noahs Doue 24 I shall not neede I hope in so euident a truth to search vp more Scriptures to proue it.
1780 J. Ryland Contempl. on Beauties of Creation 361 He searched up all the Hebrew copies he was able, and burnt them.
1817 Evangelical Guardian & Rev. July 105 For our age has been reserved the honour of exploring the outskirts of society,..to search up the outcasts from civilization.
1909 Science 22 Oct. 551/2 If the combination be forgotten the instructor has to search it up in the records.
2002 mailing.freebsd.questions 12 Feb. (Usenet newsgroup, accessed 31 Oct. 2019) So i searched it up on this mailing list and google.
2019 @ForeenLabalaba 20 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Oct. 2019) Search it up. Add to favorites. Plug in both earphones on this rainy day. You won't regret it.
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society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (transitive)] > dig (hole, etc.) > dig or break up (ground)
delvec888
dig1382
gruba1400
stubc1450
cast1497
sheugh1513
to search upc1540
stock1802
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 26 Sone he raght vpon rowme rid vp þe dykis Serchit vp the soile þere þe Citie was.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1415v.c1330