ə̇nˈvenchən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English invencioun, from Middle French invention, from Latin invention-, inventio, from inventus (past participle of invenire to find) + -ion-, -io -ion
1. : an act of finding or of finding out : discovery
invention of the principle of leverage
2.
a. : the power to conceive new ideas and relationships : productive imagination : inventiveness
old crates and boxes are often more stimulating to a child's invention than expensive toys
b. : a faculty for creative selection of theme and imaginative treatment of design or content
the variety and excellence of the classical legacy demonstrate the abundant invention of the ancient Greeks
as a teller of tales he had rich invention and adroit construction — Brander Matthews
c. : a product of creative imagination or fertile wit
the inventions, the devices which serve a novelist best grow … out of his necessity — Caroline Gordon
a cascade of melodic invention — Harold Sinclair
those pillars, that stair and varnished roof … were among the worst inventions of the Gothic revival — W.B.Yeats
d. : a musical composition or piece imitative in style, usually short, and usually written for the piano or other keyboard instrument
3.
a. : an act of mental creation or organization : application of knowledge : conception , formulation
invention of agreements or compromises — Weston La Barre
no continuing agency to interpret the party platform after its slapdash invention every four years — R.L.Strout
tried a long play of her own invention — Leslie Rees
b. : a product of thought or mental synthesis : idea , concept
the idea that the royal family should be a symbol of respectability was an invention of Queen Victoria — Fritz Stern
characterized the Supreme Court as the great political invention of the framers of the Constitution — Felix Frankfurter
new social inventions are made by those who suffer from the current conditions — Ralph Linton
specifically : a fictitious idea or statement
race theories are … a modern invention to explain such group conflicts — M.R.Cohen
the whole purpose of the … argument being to invalidate the generally accepted romance and prove it an invention — E.V.Lucas
4.
a. : the creation of something not previously in existence : purposeful experimentation leading to the development of a new device or process : origination
necessity is the mother of invention
machinery of their own invention — American Guide Series: Maryland
b. : an original device or process
writing was a greater invention than the steam engine — A.N.Whitehead
specifically U.S. patent law : a device or process that is not only novel and useful but that reflects creative genius, makes a distinct contribution to and advances science, is recognized by masters of science as such an advance and reveals more than the skill of expert artisans or mechanics in discovering new and useful gadgets or processes of wide commercial application