diversify

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English diversifien,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle French diversifier, recorded in Old French from the 13th century;^[5][3] the Anglo-Norman form diversefier is recorded from 1155.^[6] The French verb is from Medieval Latin dīversificō (“to make varied”), used from the 12th century,^[5][3][4][7] formed from Latin dīversus (“diverse”) and -ficō,^[5][8] from faciō (“to make, do”).^[8] Merriam-Webster derives the Medieval Latin verb from Late Latin dīversificus (“varied”),^[9] which the OED records from the 6th century.^[5] The Latin adjective, "turned different ways" and in Late Latin "various", is the past participle of dīvertō (“to turn in different directions”), from dis- (“aside”) and vertō (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, bend”).^[3][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To become different, to vary: before 1475, in Lydgate's translation of Deguileville's Pilgrimage, perhaps written before 1430, where the planets dyversefye.^[5][2] Etymonline gives the early 15th century, with the sense "to make various in form or qualities".^[3]

Semantic evolution

Caxton used it in 1481 for producing variety and in 1490 for making something varied, the sense that became the main one.^[5] From 1594 it could also mean to make one thing different from another, now rare;^[5] Johnson (1755) gave "to make different from another; to distinguish" as his first sense.^[11] The business sense, widening the range of products or investments, is recorded from 1852 in the OED,^[5] from 1939 in Etymonline;^[3] the Shorter Oxford dates the intransitive use of a company to the mid-20th century.^[7] Since 1964 it has also meant making a society or organization more diverse in ethnic background, gender and the like.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1475 – to become different, to vary.^[5][2]
• 1481 – to produce variety.^[5]
• 1490 – to make varied.^[5]
• 1594 – to make different from others (now rare).^[5]
• 1852 – in business, to widen the range of products or investments.^[5] Etymonline dates the economic sense to 1939.^[3]
• 1964 – to make a society or organization more diverse.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make diverse; to give variety to: The chef diversified the menu with dishes from three continents.^[9][12][5]
2. To spread investments among different securities so as to reduce risk.^[9][12]
3. Of a business, to widen its range of products or activities: The firm diversified into solar power.^[12][7][5]
4. To make a group or organization more varied in ethnic background, gender and the like.^[5]
5. To become varied or different.^[5][2]

Word family

• diversification
• diversifier
• diversifiable
• diversifiability
• overdiversify

Related words

• diverse
• divers
• divert
• diversity
• -fy
• version

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins