Meaning

verb come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort

verb make up something artificial or untrue

originFrom Middle English inventen, borrowed from Old French inventer, from Latin inventus, perfect passive participle of inveniō (“come upon, meet with, find, discover”), from in (“in, on”) + veniō (“come”); see venture. Compare advent, covent, event, prevent, etc. Displaced native Old English āþenċan (literally “to think out”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0