diviner

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English devinour, also divinour,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman devinour, also divinour,^[2][5] the Anglo-Norman form of Old French devineor,^[2][6][7][3] an agent noun from deviner (“to divine”),^[2][5] which corresponds to Late Latin dīvīnātor (“soothsayer”),^[2][6][7][8] from dīvīnō (“to foresee, foretell”).^[6][4] That verb is from dīvīnus (“of a god”), from dīvus (“of or belonging to a god, inspired, prophetic”), related to deus (“god”),^[6] from Proto-Indo-European *dyeu- (“to shine”).^[6] The present form treats the word as divine with the suffix -er,^[8][5] and the OED notes that until 1500 it was regularly stressed on the last or the first syllable.^[2] The sense "theologian" apparently comes rather from devin or divin, with the ending of philosopher.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who practises divination, a soothsayer or sorcerer: about 1330, in Robert Mannyng's Chronicle.^[2] Etymonline likewise has the early 14th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The Middle English word covered a soothsayer, augur, interpreter of dreams and sorcerer alike,^[3] and Chaucer has it once, for a soothsayer.^[9] Trevisa used it before 1387 to render Latin aruspicum, of those who read signs from weather and birds.^[3] From 1377, in Piers Plowman, until 1552 it could also mean a theologian,^[2] and for a short time in Trevisa a wise man or sage.^[2] From 1690, in Locke, the word extended to someone who guesses well,^[2][10] and Johnson (1755) gave both this sense and the original one.^[10] A later specialised use is the person who looks for water or minerals underground with a divining rod.^[4][5]

Timeline

• c. 1330 – a soothsayer, a sorcerer.^[2]
• 1377 – a theologian, in Piers Plowman (obsolete by 1552).^[2]
• 1690 – a good guesser, in Locke.^[2][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who practises divination; a soothsayer or prophet.^[4][2]
2. A person who looks for underground water or minerals with a divining rod; a dowser.^[4][5]
3. A person who guesses or conjectures well.^[5][2][10]
4. (obsolete, 1377–1552) A theologian; a divine.^[2][5]

Word family

• divineress

Related words

• divine
• divination
• divining rod

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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)
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
10. ^ a b c d Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.