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discoverer

discoverer

8 3.5
A person who finds something new for the first time
  • noun
  • /dɪsˈkʌvərər/
translation icon : descubridor
  • Today is the federal holiday honoring Christopher Columbus, the alleged discoverer of the Americas.
  • discoverer and/or inventor

Second, a famous poet is less an inventor than a discoverer.

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Examples

  • Nicholson thus joined Galileo as the discoverer of four Jovian satellites.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Look at somebody like the Co discoverer of DNA, Jim Watson.

  • So he was for a time considered to be the discoverer of this comet.

  • Erikson was really the first discoverer.

  • Nevertheless, this feature has retained the name "Mountains of Mitchel" in honor of its discoverer.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Graduate student Louise Johnson is credited as Co discoverer of this, the first enzyme ever to be solved.

  • We've got a lot of very important people here-- discoverers, inventors, people who did very good things.

  • Comets are named for the discoverer or discoverers as recorded in the IAU Circulars.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Hawaii replaced Columbus Day with Discoverer's Day, commemorating the Polynesian discoverers of the Islands.

    Blog text (4)
  • Jim Watson is widely recognized as a discoverer of DNA, sharing his findings with the world.

Synonyms

finder
vsdiscoverer
18 1.8

A person who finds something valuable, like a fossil or document

is first to find or identify something new not just locate it
co-discoverer
vsdiscoverer
5.8

A person who finds something for the first time together with one or more others

is the first alone rather than sharing credit with others

Compounds

A person who finds something for the first time together with one or more others

How Pioneering

trailblazer
12 6.8
pioneer
113 4.2
discoverer
8 3.5
finder
18 1.8
observer
305 2.8

Surface Forms

discoverer singular
discoverers plural

Morphology

discoverer = discover (transparent) = discover + er

The agentive suffix '-er' added to the verb 'discover' yields 'discoverer' in a straightforward and predictable way for learners.

Etymology

The word discoverer comes from the verb discover, which originally meant to 'remove a cover' and is made of dis- 'remove' and cover. So a discoverer is someone who 'uncovers' or finds something new.