Etymologically
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diva

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈdiː.və/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian diva (“goddess, fine lady”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin dīva (“goddess”), the feminine of dīvus (“god; divine”),[5][3][2][6] the source of divine.[6][4][7] Barnhart notes the Italian sense "goddess" in Dante, and thinks the English borrowing may have been helped by French diva or German Diva.[4] The Latin word is related to deus (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *dyeu- (“to shine”), whose derivatives mean "sky, heaven, god".[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A distinguished female singer, a prima donna: 1883, in Harper's Magazine.[2][8][4] Etymonline gives an earlier date, 1864.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with the opera: a diva was first the leading woman singer of an opera company, the prima donna.[2][4][9] It was later applied to famous singers of other kinds of music, as in jazz diva or pop diva,[5][10][8] and to any glamorous and successful woman performer or personality.[8] From 1988 the OED records the sense of a self-important, temperamental and very demanding person, usually a woman,[2] a development that follows prima donna itself.[2] In American Black slang diva has also meant a stately woman of real presence, or any accomplished woman,[11] and campus slang of the early 1990s used it as an adjective meaning excellent.[11]

Timeline

  • 1864 – first date in Etymonline.[3]
  • 1883 – a distinguished female singer, a prima donna.[2][8]
  • 1988 – a self-important, temperamental and demanding person.[2]
  • 1990–1992 – adjective in US campus slang, excellent.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A celebrated female opera singer; a prima donna.[2][5][10][8]
  2. A famous female singer of popular music: a soul diva.[5][10][8]
  3. A glamorous and successful female performer or public figure.[8]
  4. (informal) A person, usually a woman, who is temperamental, self-important and demanding.[2][5][10][12]

Usage notes

The plural is divas or, after Italian, dive.[8][5][13]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  12. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
  13. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins