retrouvé

Retrouvé is a French past participle and adjective derived from retrouver, meaning to find again, to recover, or to rediscover. As an adjective, retrouvé describes something that has been located after being lost, or something that has been regained or reawakened. In English-language discussions it is sometimes used to label rediscovered works, manuscripts, or places, especially in musicology, literature, or archaeology.

Grammatical notes: The form retrouvé (masculine singular) agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number (un objet retrouvé, une piste retrouvée, des souvenirs retrouvés). In compound tenses it typically appears with the auxiliary avoir: j'ai retrouvé mes clés. The feminine form is retrouvée; the masculine plural is retrouvés; the feminine plural retrouvées.

Usage and phrases: Common expressions include retrouver le chemin (to find one's way again), retrouver quelqu'un (to meet someone again), retrouver ses forces (to regain one's strength), and retrouver la mémoire (to regain one's memory). The word also occurs in titles or descriptions of rediscovered works or performances, often paired with musique retrouvée or œuvre retrouvée.

Etymology: The term comes from the verb retrouver, formed with re- plus trouver (to find). The root trouver traces back to Old French trover and ultimately to Latin roots that gave rise to the modern verb trouver.

Related terms: retrouvailles, the noun for a reunion; la retrouvaille (singular), and les retrouvailles (plural), used for the act or occasion of meeting again after a long separation.