divide

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈvaɪd/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English dividen, borrowed from Latin dīvidere (“to force apart, cleave, distribute”),^[2][3][4] from dī-, a form of dis-, apart, and -videre, to separate, related to vidua (“widow”) (see widow).^[2][4][5] De Vaan derives -videre from PIE *(d)uid-, to separate, which lost its initial d and was reinforced by dis-.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To separate into parts: probably before 1325 in Barnhart,^[2] the early 14th century in Etymonline, about 1374 in the OED.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

To sever a connection, or to cause disagreement, is from the late 14th century,^[3] and the mathematical operation of division from the early 15th century.^[3] The intransitive, to become separated into parts, is from the 1520s.^[3] Divide and rule (1602) translates Latin divide et impera;^[6][7] Word Origins notes that it is often attributed to Machiavelli, who in fact denounced the principle.^[7] The noun, an act of dividing, is from 1642,^[2][4] and a watershed between river valleys American English by 1807.^[3] In Parliament, to vote by separating into two groups is a specialized sense.^[8][9]

Timeline

• c. 1325 – to separate into parts.^[2]
• late 14th century – to cause disagreement.^[3]
• early 15th century – in arithmetic.^[3]
• 1602 – divide and rule.^[6]
• 1642 – the noun.^[2]
• 1807 – a watershed.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To separate into parts, groups or sections.
2. To share out; to distribute.
3. To cause to disagree; to set at odds.
4. (mathematics) To find how many times one number contains another.
5. Of a parliament, to vote by separating into two groups.

Noun

1. A point or line of division; a gap between groups: the digital divide.
2. (US) A ridge of land between two river systems; a watershed.

Word family

• dividable
• divvy
• divider
• misdivide
• redivide
• subdivide
• continental divide
• great divide

Related words

• division
• dividend
• divisor
• divisive
• individual
• devise
• widow

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins