Etymologically
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deviner

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /də.vi.ne/[1]

Forms

deviner[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *dēvīnō, the late form of dīvīnō (“to foresee, predict; to prophesy; to conjecture”), derived from dīvīnus (“divine; prophet”) (whence divin and, through the late “*dēvīnus”, devin).[2][3][4][5][6][1] Old French also had the prefixed “adeviner” and “endeviner” (like Old Occitan endevinar), still used in many dialects, like Italian indovinare and Spanish adivinar.[3][4]

Compare Old Occitan devinar.[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace's Brut (1155) has it for discovering by conjecture or intuition: mes cuer devine Que encore hui les vainquerois “my heart guesses that you will defeat them again today”.[2][7] About 1160 the Roman d'Eneas uses it for discovering by supernatural means, foretelling.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages it had other senses linked with the word of a god that teaches, reveals or misleads: “to tell, relate”, “to mean”, “to wish” and also “to deceive”.[3] With a person as object (deviner qqn) it is first found in Pascal (1657–62), and the figurative “to sense, glimpse” is also of the 17th century.[2][3] Its derivative devinette, a riddle, dates from 1870.[4]

Timeline

  • 1155 – To guess, Wace.[2]
  • c. 1160 – To foretell, Eneas.[2]
  • 1165 – Devinere, a soothsayer.[3]
  • 1657–62 – Deviner qqn, Pascal.[2]
  • 1870 – Devinette.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To guess, work out by conjecture or intuition: deviner un secret, devine qui est là.[8][1]
  2. To solve (a riddle).[9]
  3. To sense, make out, glimpse: on devinait une silhouette dans le brouillard.[9][1]
  4. To see through (someone): il m'a deviné.[2][3]
  5. (rare) To foretell, as a soothsayer does: deviner l'avenir.[8][10]

Word family

  • devinette
  • devineur
  • devineresse
  • devin
  • divin
  • divination
  • divinatoire

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 107b
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)