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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Invent \In*vent"\, 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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1. 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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2. 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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3. 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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