dice English · revision 39782

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=early 14th century, des, dys|origins=la dō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /daɪs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the plural of [[die]], the small cube used in games:^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 2026)^(Skeat 1911) [[inh|enm|dys]], [[m|enm|dees]], the plural of [[m|enm|dy]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[der|fro|dez]], the plural of [[m|fro|de]].^(SOED 2002)^(Ayto 2005)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The Old French word is usually traced to [[la|datum|t=something given]], the past participle of [[m|la|dō|t=to give]], which also had the sense "to play" (as a piece in chess);^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005) or else the notion was "what is given" by chance or fortune.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline links the Latin verb to [[ine-pro|*deh₃-|t=to give]].^(Etymonline) The form ''dys'' was altered to [[m|enm|dyse]] and [[m|enm|dyce]] in the 14th century and to ''dice'' by 1479.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Etymonline, quoting the OED, explains that the final ''-s'' kept its voiceless sound, as in [[pence]], because the word was felt as a collective rather than an ordinary plural.^(Etymonline) The verb, first recorded about 1390, is formed from the noun.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Small cubes marked with spots, thrown in games of chance: early 14th century, as ''des'' and ''dys'';^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates ''dys'' to probably before 1300, in ''Kyng Alisaunder''.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb's first sense was culinary, to cut into small cubes, in the ''Forme of Cury'' of about 1390.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Between about 1400 and 1700 ''dice'' was also used as a singular, with a plural ''dices'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and in British English it has now largely replaced ''die'' for a single cube, which survives mainly in ''the die is cast'' and in American use.^(Ayto 2005)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb meant to play or gamble with dice from the mid-15th century,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) to lose by gambling from 1549,^(OED 2026) and to ornament with a checked pattern from 1694.^(OED 2026) ''Dice-box'' is recorded from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) Journalists used ''dice with death'' in the early 20th century for the risks of racing drivers, and this is probably the source of [[dicey]], used by RAF pilots in the 1950s.^(Cresswell 2021) The American slang ''no dice'', meaning "no use, no luck", is a later development.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) In Australian slang, from the 1940s, ''to dice'' was to reject or throw away.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) In Scots, ''the whole box and dice'' meant the whole lot.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 14th century – ''des'', ''dys'', plural of ''die''.^(Etymonline)

+ * ?c1390 – verb, to cut into cubes.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c1440 – verb, to play at dice.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1479 – the spelling ''dice''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1549 – to gamble away.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1550s – ''dice-box''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1694 – to ornament with a checked pattern.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1945 – (Australian slang) to reject, throw away.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Small [[cube|alt=cubes]] with one to six spots on their faces, thrown in games of chance and [[gamble|alt=gambling]]; also used as the singular, for one such cube.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A game played with these cubes.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Small cubes of food: ''a dice of carrot and celery''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cut food into small cubes: ''Dice the onions finely.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To play or gamble with dice;^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) ''dice with death'', to take great risks.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+ # (Australian, slang) To reject or throw away.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dicer]]

+ * [[dicey]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[die]]

+ * [[date]]

+ * [[data]]

+ * [[cube]]

+ * [[gamble]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}