GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Invent , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Invented; p. pr. & vb. n. Inventing.] [L. inventus, p. p. of invenire to come upon, to find, invent; pref. in- in + venire to come, akin to E. come: cf. F. inventer. See Come.]
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   To come or light upon; to meet; to find. [Obs.]
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   And vowed never to return again,
   Till him alive or dead she did invent.
   Spenser.
   
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   To discover, as by study or inquiry; to find out; to devise; to contrive or produce for the first time; -- applied commonly to the discovery of some serviceable mode, instrument, or machine.
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   Thus first Necessity invented stools.
   Cowper.
   
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   To frame by the imagination; to fabricate mentally; to forge; -- in a good or a bad sense; as, to invent the machinery of a poem; to invent a falsehood.
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   Whate'er his cruel malice could invent.
   Milton.
   
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   He had invented some circumstances, and put the worst possible construction on others.
   Sir W. Scott.
   Syn. -- To discover; contrive; devise; frame; design; fabricate; concoct; elaborate. See Discover.
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