finder

finder in law. Ordinarily the finder of lost property is entitled to retain it against anyone except the owner. It is larceny , however, for the finder to keep the property if he knows or can easily determine who owns it. In some places the finder must deliver the lost object to the police; if it is unclaimed within a prescribed period it becomes his property. Lost objects that are embedded in the soil, e.g., a deeply buried ring, belong to the landowner even if another finds them. On the other hand, objects found in a privately owned place to which the public has the right of access, e.g., a hotel, belong to the finder and not to the owner of the realty. The purchaser of an article that, without his knowledge, has something of value concealed in it, e.g., money in a desk, is legally the finder, not the owner, of the valuable. See treasure-trove .

finder A small telescope or alignment device fixed to a larger telescope to aid in locating a chosen object. It provides a comparatively wide field of view, often with cross-wires to mark the centre. Some finder devices simply display an illuminated marker against the night sky, allowing the telescope to be roughly aligned on an object.

depth finder an echo sounder or other device for measuring water depth, especially for navigation and fishing.