detective
de·tec·tive
noun
2.
an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public
Origin
The adjective is from Classical Latin dētēct-, past participial stem of dētegō (“to detect”), + -ive. The noun is an ellipsis of detective policeman, detective officer, or a similar construction. By surface analysis, detect + -ive.
Phrases
- detective chief inspector
- detective chief superintendent
- detective constable
- detective gag
- detective inspector
- detective story
- detective work
- house detective
Related words
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.