Contextualizebeta

invention

noun
/ɪnˈvɛnʃən/UK

Etymology

From Middle English invencion, invencioun, from Latin inventiō either directly or via Middle French invencion, from Latin invenīre (“to discover, find, invent”), from in- (“in-: in, into”) + venīre (“to come”). Doublet of inventio. By surface analysis, invent + -ion. Displaced native Old English orþanc.

  1. derived from inveniō
  2. derived from invencion
  3. derived from inventiō
  4. inherited from invencion

Definitions

  1. Something invented.

    • My new invention will let you alphabetize your matchbook collection in half the usual time.
    • I’m afraid there was no burglar. It was all the housekeeper’s invention.
    • Warren Sheffield is telephoning Rose long distance at half past six. […] Personally, I wouldn't marry a man who proposed to me over an invention.

  2. The act of inventing.

    • The invention of the printing press was probably the most significant innovation of the medieval ages.

  3. The capacity to invent.

    • It took quite a bit of invention to come up with a plan, but we did it.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. A small, self-contained composition, particularly those in J.S. Bach’s Two- and…

      A small, self-contained composition, particularly those in J.S. Bach’s Two- and Three-part Inventions.

      • I particularly like the inventions in C-minor.
      • INVENTION. A term used by J. S. Bach, and probably by him only, for small pianoforte pieces — 15 in 2 parts and 15 in 3 parts — each developing a single idea, and in some measure answering to the Impromptu of a later day.

    2. The act of discovering or finding

      The act of discovering or finding; the act of finding out; discovery.

      • That judicial method which serveth best for the invention of truth.

The neighborhood

Derived

coinvention, innovention, inventioneer, inventionism, inventionist, Invention of the Cross, necessity is the mother of invention, preinvention, reinvention, uninvention

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at invention. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01invention02inventing03invent04fictional05invented06imaginary07imagination08creating09creation

A definitional loop anchored at invention. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at invention

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA