divide English · revision 7695

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1325|origins=la divido}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪˈvaɪd/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English dividen, [[bor|la|divido|alt=dīvidere|t=to force apart, cleave, distribute]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from dī-, a form of dis-, apart, and -videre, to separate, related to [[m|la|vidua|t=widow]] (see [[widow]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) De Vaan derives -videre from PIE *(d)uid-, to separate, which lost its initial d and was reinforced by dis-.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To separate into parts: probably before 1325 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 14th century in Etymonline, about 1374 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To sever a connection, or to cause disagreement, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and the mathematical operation of division from the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) The intransitive, to become separated into parts, is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) ''Divide and rule'' (1602) translates Latin divide et impera;^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) Word Origins notes that it is often attributed to Machiavelli, who in fact denounced the principle.^(Cresswell 2021) The noun, an act of dividing, is from 1642,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and a watershed between river valleys American English by 1807.^(Etymonline) In Parliament, to vote by separating into two groups is a specialized sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – to separate into parts.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – to cause disagreement.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 15th century – in arithmetic.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1602 – divide and rule.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1642 – the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1807 – a watershed.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[separate]] into parts, groups or sections.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To share out; to [[distribute]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # To cause to disagree; to set at odds.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' To find how many times one number contains another.^(AHD)

+ # Of a parliament, to vote by separating into two groups.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A point or line of division; a gap between groups: ''the digital divide''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(US)'' A ridge of land between two river systems; a [[watershed]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dividable]]

+ * [[divvy]]

+ * [[divider]]

+ * [[misdivide]]

+ * [[redivide]]

+ * [[subdivide]]

+ * [[continental divide]]

+ * [[great divide]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[division]]

+ * [[dividend]]

+ * [[divisor]]

+ * [[divisive]]

+ * [[individual]]

+ * [[devise]]

+ * [[widow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}