Etymologically
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division

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈvɪʒ.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English devisioun,[2] borrowed from Old French division, devisiun,[3][4][5] and directly from Latin dīvīsiō (“a dividing, division”) (accusative dīvīsiōnem),[3][4] a noun of action from the past participle stem of dīvidere (“to divide”),[3][4] the source of divide.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of separating into parts: probably about 1350 in Barnhart,[4] about 1374 in the OED,[6] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3] Etymonline also has “a part separated from the rest” and “disagreement” from the late 14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

Distribution or sharing among a number is from about 1380,[6] and the arithmetical operation, the inverse of multiplication, is from the late 14th century.[3] The division sign (÷) is said to have been invented by the mathematician John Pell (1611–1685).[3] The military sense, a portion of an army or fleet, is from the 1590s.[3] In biology the splitting of a cell into two or more cells is from 1880,[6] and in gardening the propagation of plants by splitting clumps from 1805.[6] A vote in Parliament in which members separate into two lobbies is another sense,[7][8] as is a grouping of teams in a sports league.[7][9] Divisible is from before 1425 and divisor from before 1500.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – the act of dividing.[4]
  • c. 1380 – distribution, sharing.[6]
  • late 14th century – the arithmetical operation; disagreement.[3]
  • before 1425 – divisible.[4]
  • 1590s – a military division.[3]
  • 1805 – division of plants.[6]
  • 1880 – cell division.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of dividing or the state of being divided; separation into parts.
  2. The arithmetical operation of finding how many times one number contains another, the inverse of multiplication.
  3. Something that divides or separates, such as a partition or boundary.
  4. A part or section, as of a business or organization; a military unit, usually commanded by a major general.
  5. Disagreement or discord.
  6. In sports, a group of teams that compete with each other.

Word family

  • divisional
  • divisionally
  • divisionism
  • hyperdivision
  • interdivision
  • misdivision
  • nondivision
  • predivision
  • divide
  • dividend
  • divisive
  • divisor
  • divisible
  • divisibility
  • device
  • devise

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ 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 g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster