Etymologically
Log in

divin

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word divin

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1050 Vie de saint Alexis More words from the 11th century
Borrowed from
Latin divinus
Ultimate origin
Latin dīvus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin dīvīnus
Spanish adivino
French divin
Italian divino
Romanian divin
From the same root
Italian indovino ← dīvīnus
Latin dīvīnitās ← dīvīnus
Latin dīvīnitus ← dīvīnus
Latin dīvīnō ← dīvīnus

Pronunciation

Forms

divin (feminine divine, masculine plural divins, feminine plural divines)[1] The inherited Old French form was devin, used in this sense in the 12th century.[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman also has divigne.[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dīvīnus (“of a god, of the gods, prophetic, marvellous, excellent”).[6][7][8] The Latin adjective is derived from dīvus (“god”), a word displaced by deus and kept for deified persons such as the emperors.[7][3] The TLFi and Rey date the borrowing to about 1050;[6][7][2][3] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert date the adjective to the 14th century, with the popular form devin in the 12th.[6][7][2][3] Wiktionary calls it a doublet of devin “soothsayer”, which comes from the same Latin word.[1][7]

Cognate with Old Occitan divin, Spanish divino and Italian divino.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050), in par le divine volentet, “by the will of God”: the adjective meant “belonging to God”.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

First used of what belongs to God in a Christian setting, the adjective was then applied to the gods of antiquity as well.[7] In the 14th century it was also a noun meaning “theologian”, in the Chroniques de Saint-Denis;[9] Littré notes that this sense passed to England and survived there.[9]

The extended sense “beautiful, excellent, perfect” is first found in Ronsard, who called Du Bellay divin in his Amours (1552), and the same work has the first record of le divin as a noun.[6][7] The noun was used several times in the 16th century and taken up again by Balzac in 1850.[6] The feminine divine is sometimes used of a woman of exceptional beauty; it was the nickname of Greta Garbo.[7] The weakened sense “very pleasant, delightful” is recorded by the BHVF from 1814.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Divine “of God” in the Vie de saint Alexis.[6][7]
  • 1119 – The popular form devin is recorded in this sense.[4]
  • 14th century – Oresme uses divin; the noun means “theologian”.[9][11]
  • 1327 – The derivative divinement is first recorded.[7]
  • 1552 – Ronsard's Divin Bellay gives the sense “excellent”;[6][7] le divin as a noun.[6][7]
  • 1581 – The derivative diviniser appears.[7][2]
  • 1850 – Balzac revives the noun le divin.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Belonging to or coming from God or the gods: la volonté divine, droit divin.[4][9]
  2. (Christianity) Les personnes divines: the three persons of the Trinity;[4][9] le divin enfant: the infant Jesus.[4][9]
  3. Due to God or a god: le service divin, divine worship.[4][9]
  4. Placed among the gods, deified: le divin Auguste.[4][9]
  5. Excellent, sublime: une musique divine.[4]
  6. (familiar) Very pleasant, delightful: Ce gâteau était divin.[4]

Noun

  1. Le divin: what comes from a supernatural power or from God; the divine.[4][6]

Word family

  • diviniser
  • divinement

Usage notes

Before a vowel the masculine is pronounced with liaison, as in le divin enfant [lədivinɑ̃fɑ̃].[4][11] The interjection bonté divine ! expresses surprise.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 109a
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Divin.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/divin. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·