Etymologically
Log in

dividuus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 18:06. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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