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A discovery is a novel observation, usually of a natural phenomenon.
Contrast with: invention, technique, theory
The discovery that the Earth was not flat
The term has also been used for the beginning of contact between Europe and an area of the world such as the Columbus's discovery of America. Some find the latter use of the term objectionable as it ignores the existence of indigenous peoples of an area who knew about it before the Europeans.
The discovery of the structure of DNA. The discovery of quasars.
See also: resource discovery