English

find

/ˈfɑjnd/
To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle English finden, from Old English findan, from Proto-West Germanic *finþan, from Proto-Germanic *finþaną, a secondary verb from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, pass; path bridge”).

    See also West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Norwegian Bokmål finne, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish finna; also English path, Old Irish étain (“I find”), áitt (“place”), Latin pōns (“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “sea”), Old Armenian հուն (hun, “ford”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬃 (paṇtā̊), Sanskrit पथ (pathá, “path”), Proto-Slavic *pǫtь.

    For the meaning development compare Proto-Slavic *najьti > Russian найти́ (najtí), akin to Proto-Slavic *jьti > идти́ (idtí); Russian находи́ть (naxodítʹ), нахо́дка (naxódka), akin to ход (xod), ходи́ть (xodítʹ).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*pent- “to go, pass; path bridge”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishfinden
      • inheritedOld Englishfindan
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*finþan
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*finþaną

    Related: English path, West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Norwegian Bokmål finne, Swedish finna, Old Irish étain, Latin pōns, Ancient Greek πόντος, Old Armenian հուն, Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬃, Sanskrit पथ, Proto-Slavic *pǫtь, Proto-Slavic *jьti

    Sources