dividuus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [diːˈwɪ.du.ʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [diˈviː.du.us]^[1]

Forms

dīviduus (feminine dīvidua, neuter dīviduum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from dīvidō “to divide” with the suffix -uus.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, “divisible”.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant divided or divisible, as in Plautus and in Cicero's “every animal must be dissoluble and divisible”.^[2][4] In Ovid it meant forked, of parted hair, and separated; in Seneca shared out, and in Pliny the Elder distinct from.^[2]

British Medieval Latin used it for divisible and divisive.^[5] Its negative indīviduus “indivisible” gave Medieval Latin indīviduālis and English individual in the early 15th century.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of divisible things.^[4][3]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of parted hair.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Divided, divisible.^[2]
2. Forked; parted.^[2]
3. Shared out.^[2]
4. Separate, distinct.^[2]

Word family

• dīviduitās
• indīviduus

Related words

• dīvidō
• English individual

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com