dividend English · revision 39384

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1477, Thomas Norton, Ordinall of Alchimy|origins=la dīvidō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdɪvɪdɛnd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|dividende]],^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002)^(OED 2026) from [[la|dīvidendum|t=thing to be divided]], the neuter gerundive of [[m|la|dīvidō|t=to divide]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Barnhart calls the French form Middle French.^(Barnhart 1988) Early English forms were often [[m|enm|divident]], and the spelling was conformed to the Latin in the 17th century.^(OED 2026) The AHD explains ''dividend'' as an alteration, influenced by French, of Middle English ''divident'', from [[m|la|dīvidēns]], the present participle of the Latin verb;^(AHD 2024) Barnhart treats ''divident'' (before 1425, "a divider") as an earlier, separate borrowing that ''dividend'' replaced by the late 1600s.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A portion or share of something divided, 1477, in Thomas Norton's Ordinall of Alchimy.^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010) Etymonline dates ''divident'' "that which serves as a barrier" to the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In arithmetic, the number to be divided, it is recorded in 1543 by the OED, in Robert Recorde,^(OED 2026) and in 1557 by Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) In 1623 it named a sum of money to be shared out, such as the profits of a company,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED dates a shareholder's individual portion of it to 1690.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as "a share; the part allotted in division".^(Johnson 1755) A winner's share of a football pool is a dividend from 1929.^(OED 2026) Figuratively, it is any extra gain or benefit.^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1477 – a share or portion.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1535 – the act of dividing (obsolete by 1726).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1543 – the number to be divided (OED); Barnhart has 1557.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1623 – a sum to be shared out as profit or interest.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690 – a shareholder's individual share.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1929 – a share of a football pool.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A number or quantity to be divided by another, the [[divisor]].^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A share of a company's profits paid to its [[shareholder|alt=shareholders]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A payment to the [[creditor|alt=creditors]] of a [[bankrupt]].^(AHD 2024)

+ # ''(British)'' A winner's share of a [[football pool]].^(OED 2026)

+ # An extra or unexpected benefit; a [[bonus]].^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dividendless]]

+ * [[ex dividend]]

+ * [[cum dividend]]

+ * [[peace dividend]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[divide]]

+ * [[division]]

+ * [[individual]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}