Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - detect

 verb  Etymology: Middle English, from Latin ~us, past participle of detegere to uncover, ~, from de- + tegere to cover — more at thatch  Date: 1574  transitive verb  1. to discover the true character of  2. to discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of ~ alcohol in the blood  3. demodulate  intransitive verb to work as a ~ive  • ~ability noun  • ~able adjective