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divello

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word divello

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
96–55 BC, Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Latin (vellō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vello
Latin revello
Latin divello
Latin evello
Latin avello

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [diːˈwɛl.loː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [diˈvɛl.lo][1]

Forms

dīvellō (present infinitive dīvellere, perfect active dīvellī, supine dīvulsum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- + vellō (“to pluck, tear”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨vellō⟩ to Proto-Italic *weln-e/o- and a nasal present of Proto-Indo-European *uelh3- (“to strike”), cognate with Hittite u̯alh- (“to hit, strike”) and Ancient Greek ἁλίσκομαι (halískomai, “to be caught”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is in Lucretius.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means “to tear apart, tear to pieces”, as Catullus' Bacchants tossing the limbs of a torn bullock, and “to tear away”, as Cicero's landowners who would sooner have their limbs torn off than give up their estates.[2][4] Of people it is “to force apart, separate”, as in the elegy's prayer that no one part lovers, and Cicero's plea against anyone who would tear him from the man who saved his life.[2] Figuratively it is to break up a relationship, as a partnership or a tie by marriage, and to separate things that belong together.[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “rend, tear asunder”.[5]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius.[2][6]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of a torn bullock.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of severed ties.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To tear apart, rend; to tear away.[2][4][1][5]
  2. To force apart, separate persons.[2]
  3. To break up a relationship; to divide; to estrange.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Divello.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/divello. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·