dive English · revision 7696

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=gem-pro *dūbijaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /daɪv/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English diven, earlier dialectal duven,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|dūfan|t=to dive, duck, sink]], an intransitive strong verb, merged with dȳfan, to dip, submerge, a weak transitive verb,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *dūbijanan,^(Barnhart 1988) related to [[deep]] and [[dip]],^(NODE 1998)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE *dʰewb-, deep, hollow.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To plunge into water: before 1000 in the OED;^(OED 1989) diven about 1250 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the merger the weak forms prevailed, and the strong ones were obsolete by 1300.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The past tense ''dove'' emerged in the 19th century, perhaps on the analogy of drive, drove;^(Etymonline) Bartlett (1859) noted it as an Americanism common among seamen, and it was reported in Canadian English in 1857 and used by Longfellow in ''Hiawatha'' (1855).^(Etymonline) To plunge into the earth or an abyss is from before 1225.^(OED 1989) The noun, a headfirst plunge or sudden swoop, is from 1700.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) A disreputable bar or club is American by 1871, perhaps because such places were often in basements;^(Etymonline) Hoad links it to the verb's sense dart out of sight.^(Hoad 1986) Of a submarine, to submerge, it is from 1872, and of an aircraft from 1908.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – to plunge into water.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1250 – diven.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1700 – the noun.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – dove, in Longfellow.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1871 – a low bar.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – of aircraft.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To plunge headfirst into [[water]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To go under water, as a [[submarine]] or a [[scuba]] diver.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of an [[aircraft]], to descend steeply.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To rush or reach quickly, as in a plunge.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A plunge into water, especially headfirst.^(AHD)

+ # A steep descent through the air, or a sudden drop.^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal)'' A shabby or disreputable bar or club.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[crash-dive]]

+ * [[dive-bomb]]

+ * [[divemaster]]

+ * [[diver]]

+ * [[nose-dive]]

+ * [[postdive]]

+ * [[predive]]

+ * [[skin-dive]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[deep]]

+ * [[dip]]

+ * [[dove]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Collins gives ''dove'' as the American past tense beside ''dived''.^(Collins 2023) In Scots an obsolete noun dive was the putrid moisture that issues from the mouth and nostrils of a dead person.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}