Etymologically
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diversion

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /daɪˈvɜː.ʃən/, /daɪˈvɜː.ʒən/[1]
  • US: /dɪˈvɝ.ʒən/, /daɪˈvɝ.ʒən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English diversioun,[2][3] borrowed from Medieval Latin dīversiō (“a turning aside”),[4][3][2][5] which the American Heritage and Oxford dictionaries call Late Latin;[6][7][8] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster take it through Middle French diversion.[9][10] The OED notes that the French word was used in medicine in the 13th and 14th centuries and in military and other senses in the 16th, and may be the immediate source of the English one.[4] The Latin noun is formed from Latin dīversus, the past participle of dīvertō (“to turn aside, go different ways”),[6][10][5][8] the source of divert.[3][5] That verb is formed from dis- (“aside”) and vertō (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, bend”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In medicine, the drawing off of superfluous or morbid humours to another part of the body: before 1425, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac's surgery.[2] Barnhart dates the general "act of diverting" to probably before 1425.[9][11]

Semantic evolution

The medical sense lasted until the early 18th century.[4][2] The general sense of turning aside from a course of action is recorded from 1600,[4][3] and the literal turning aside of something from its usual course from 1626, in Bacon.[4][3] The military sense, a move to draw the enemy's attention away from the main attack, dates from 1656 in the OED and the 1640s in Etymonline.[4][3] The sense of amusement grew from the idea of turning the mind away from tiring or sad matters (1653),[4][3] and Evelyn's Diary for 1648 has diversions in the plural for pastimes.[9][4] Johnson (1755) gave first "the act of turning any thing off from its course".[12] The British sense, a detour for traffic when a road is closed, is recorded from 1955.[4][13]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – medicine, the diverting of humours.[2]
  • 1600 – a turning aside from a course of action.[4]
  • 1626 – the turning aside of something from its course.[4]
  • 1648 – amusements, pastimes, in Evelyn's Diary.[9]
  • 1653 – recreation, distraction from cares.[4]
  • 1656 – military, a feint to draw off the enemy.[4]
  • 1667 – a turning aside of the attention.[4]
  • 1955 – British, a temporary road detour.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of turning something aside from its course or intended use: the diversion of river water for irrigation.[10][13][4]
  2. Something that takes one's mind off work or worries; an amusement or pastime.[13][10][4]
  3. Something that draws attention away from the main matter; a distraction.[10][4]
  4. (military) A feint or attack meant to draw the enemy away from the main point of attack.[13][4]
  5. (chiefly British) A temporary route for traffic when a road is closed; a detour.[13][4]
  6. (obsolete, medicine) The drawing off of humours from one part of the body to another.[4][2]

Word family

  • diversionary
  • diversional
  • diversionist
  • prediversion

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  13. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins