Etymology, English, Research

Etymology

Early Modern French rechercher (“to examine closely”), from Old French recerchier (“to seek, to look for”),  from Old French cerchier (To search; to seek; to look for.) and Old French re- (again; once more), from Late Latin circāre, present active infinitive of circō, from Latin circa, circus, from circus (“circle”) +‎ -ō, from  Ancient Greek κίρκος (kírkos, “circle, ring”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈsɜːtʃ/, /ˈɹiː.sɜːtʃ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹi.sɚtʃ/, /ɹiˈsɝtʃ/

Noun

research (countable and uncountable, plural researches)

1. (uncountable, countable in some dialects) Diligent inquiry or examination to seek or revise facts, principles, theories, applications, etc.; laborious or continued search after truth.

   The research station that houses Wang and his team is outside Lijiang, a city of about 1.2 million people.

2. (countable, dated) A particular instance or piece of research.

Verb

research (third-person singular simple present researches, present participle researching, simple past and past participle researched)

1. (transitive) To search or examine with continued care; to seek diligently.
2. (intransitive) To make an extensive investigation into.
3. (transitive) To search again.