World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English DictionariesDetective
/dɪˈtɛk.tɪv/Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
A person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes.
"The detective carefully examined the crime scene for any clues." - 2
A person who investigates and solves mysteries or crimes, often in a fictional context.
"Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous fictional detectives in literature."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
Derived from the Latin verb 'detegere', meaning 'to uncover' or 'to unroof' (comprising 'de-' meaning off/away and 'tegere' meaning to cover). Entering English in the mid-19th century via the related past participle 'detectivus', the term evolved specifically to describe a police officer or private investigator whose job is to discover information and solve crimes.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Detective"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "Detective" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
détective
Transliteration: détective
"Le détective a résolu l'affaire rapidement."
Detektiv
Transliteration: Detektiv
"Der Detektiv fand den entscheidenden Hinweis."
detective
Transliteration: detective
"Il detective ha risolto il caso con astuzia."
detective
Transliteration: detective
"El detective encontró la pista clave."
detetive
Transliteration: detetive
"O detetive resolveu o mistério rapidamente."
जासूस
Transliteration: jasoos
"जासूस ने मामले को सुलझा लिया।"
侦探
Transliteration: zhēntàn
"侦探迅速找到了线索。"
탐정
Transliteration: tamjeong
"탐정은 사건을 해결했다."
探偵
Transliteration: tantei
"探偵は事件を解決しました。"
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