Finder

How to spell finder

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce finder

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does finder mean?

1. nounA person who discovers or locates something, especially something lost.
2. nounA device or instrument used to locate or detect something.

Finder in a sentence

• The finder of the lost wallet returned it to the front desk.

• The boat was fitted with a sonar fish finder for deep water.

• The museum offered a reward to the finder of the missing artefact.

• He checked the small telescope finder before lining up the main lens.

Where does finder come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built from the native English verb 'find', which descends from Old English 'findan', meaning 'to come upon, discover, or encounter'. That verb traces back to a common Germanic root shared with Dutch 'vinden' and German 'finden', and some scholars connect it further to an ancient root meaning 'to go' or 'to reach', since finding something often meant travelling toward it. The agent suffix '-er', also of Germanic origin, attaches to a verb to name the person or thing that performs the action, so a finder is literally 'one who finds'. The word has been in steady English use for centuries, broadening from a person who discovers things to mechanical and optical senses, such as the viewfinder on a camera. Because both 'find' and '-er' are plain, regular English elements, the spelling is transparent and rarely causes trouble.

How the word is built

• find (Old English findan: to come upon)
• -er (agent suffix: one who or that which does)