Invention, n.

The action or operation of finding out something new; the contrivance of that which did not before exist; as the invention of logarithms; the invention of the art of printing; the invention of the orrery. Invention differs from discovery. Invention is applied to the contrivance and production of something that did not before exist. Discovery brings to light that which existed before, but which was not known. We are indebted to invention for the thermometer and barometer. We are indebted to discovery for the knowledge of the isles in the Pacific ocean, and for the knowledge of galvanism, and many species of earth not formerly known. This distinction is important, though not always observed.

In poetry, it is applied to whatever the poet adds to the history of the subject.