Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
▲
Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.
Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-
Proto-Italic *dis-
Latin dis-
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwi-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-der.
Proto-Italic *wiðō
Latin *vidō
Latin dīvidōder.
Middle English dividen
English divide
PIE word
*dwóh₁
From Middle English dividen, from Latin dīvidere (“to divide”). Displaced native Old English tōdǣlan related to English deal which formerly meant a “portion” or “part” of something.
Meanings
A thing that divides.
Stay on your side of the divide, please.
An act of dividing.
The divide left most of the good land on my share of the property.
The extended instruction set may double the speed again if a lot of multiplies and divides are done. 1975, Byte, numbers 1-8, page 14:
A distancing between two people or things.
Republicans and Democrats interpret individualism differently, and those divides are more pronounced than ever in our deeply polarized political climate. 2020 May 19, Scottie Andrew, “America’s response to the coronavirus is the most American thing ever”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Jul 2020:
There is a great divide between us.
A large chasm, gorge, or ravine between two areas of land.
The team crossed streams and jumped across deep, narrow divides in the glacier.
If you're heading to the coast, you'll have to cross the divide first.
Carrying light packs they left camp at daylight the next morning. Trails there were none; but they followed the general course of a small creek, crossed a divide, and dipped down into a beautifully timbered valley watered by a swift, large creek of almost riverlike dimensions. 1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate:
The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.
de Schlucht (large chasm, gorge or ravine between two areas of land) · bg вододел (topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins) · nb skille (thing that divides) · de Teilung (act of dividing) · de Trennlinie (thing that divides) · bg разделяне (act of dividing) · de Wasserscheide (topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins) · pl podział (thing that divides) · de Kluft (large chasm, gorge or ravine between two areas of land) · de Graben (large chasm, gorge or ravine between two areas of land) · eo dividaĵo (thing that divides) · nb skille (distancing) · fr fossé (large chasm, gorge or ravine between two areas of land) · bg разделение (thing that divides) · es divisoria (topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins) · bg разделение (distancing) · pl podział (distancing) · de Abtrennung (thing that divides) · es división (act of dividing) · de Graben (distancing) · de Kluft (distancing) · eo divido (distancing)
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
▲
Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.
Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-
Proto-Italic *dis-
Latin dis-
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwi-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-der.
Proto-Italic *wiðō
Latin *vidō
Latin dīvidōder.
Middle English dividen
English divide
PIE word
*dwóh₁
From Middle English dividen, from Latin dīvidere (“to divide”). Displaced native Old English tōdǣlan related to English deal which formerly meant a “portion” or “part” of something.
Meanings
(transitive) To split or separate (something) into two or more parts.
a wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns
Divide the living child in two. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 3:25:
(intransitive) To separate into two or more parts.
(transitive) To share (something) by dividing it.
How shall we divide this pie?
true justice unto people to divide 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 1:
(transitive) To cause (a group of people) to disagree.
Words divide us; Wiktionary unites us.
For nearly two years, the pandemic has been dividing families over issues like social distancing, mask-wearing, and vaccines. Now that the holiday season is here and families are gathering, many issues that have been simmering are reaching a boiling point. 2021 December 15, “Has the Pandemic Torn Your Family Apart?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Dec 2022:
It is a debate that divides Americans as evenly as any of the great political issues of the day. Should they leave their butter on the counter, or must they keep it in the fridge? 2023 April 29, Will Pavia, “Why butter must come out of the fridge”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 Apr 2023:
(transitive, with by) To calculate the quotient number by which another one (the divisor) is multiplied to produce a second number (the dividend).
If you divide 6 by 3, you get 2.
I could add and subtract and multiply and divide, but I entered the wilderness when words became equations. 2022 August 7, Alec Wilkinson, “Could learning algebra in my 60s make me smarter?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2023:
(transitive) To be a divisor of.
3 divides 6.
(intransitive, of a cell) To reproduce by either mitosis or meiosis.
[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, and that in several cases these bacteria were dividing and thus, by the perverse arithmetic of biological terminology, multiplying. 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
(intransitive) To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance.
Every family became now divided within itself. 1838, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: American Stationers’ Company; John B. Russell, →OCLC:
If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 3:24:
(intransitive, obsolete) To break friendship; to fall out.
love cools, friendship / falls off, brothers divide. 1605, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Lear, I. ii. 107:
(obsolete) To have a share; to partake.
Make good this ostentation, and you shall / Divide in all with us. 1608, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Coriolanus, I. vi. 87:
(intransitive, qualifier:parliamentary jargon) To vote, as in the British parliament and other legislatures, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the nays.
The debates were conducted with decent freedom; and the emperors themselves, who gloried in the name of senators, sat, voted, and divided with their equals. 1776, Edward Gibbon, “Chapter III: The Constitution In The Age Of The Antonines.—Part I.”, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 69:
(transitive) To split (something) into regular steps or intervals; to mark with degrees; to graduate.
to divide a sextant
To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations.
About the bed sweet musicke did divide 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
misdivide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divide and rule (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · Delmar Divide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divide and choose (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · dividable (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · overdivide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · Divide County (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · Continental Divide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · digital divide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · redivide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divvy up (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · subdivide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · continental divide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divider (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divide up (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · dividing engine (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · drainage divide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divvy (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · water divide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · dividability (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divide and conquer (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · divide the House (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun)) · serodivide (Terms derived from divide (verb and noun))
de teilen (calculate quotient) · eo partigi (split into two or more parts) · et jagama (calculate quotient) · es dividir (divide up; share by dividing) · ga deighil (split into two or more parts) · hy բաժանել (split into two or more parts) · uk діли́ти (calculate quotient) · pl podzielić (calculate quotient) · ro divide (split into two or more parts) · no delt på (calculate quotient) · he חילק (calculate quotient) · sh podijeliti (split into two or more parts) · pt repartir (divide up; share by dividing) · fi jakaantua (separate into two or more parts) · sw -gawa (separate into two or more parts) · mi totoe (split into two or more parts) · qu rakiy (calculate quotient) · hi बांटना (split into two or more parts) · sv dela (split into two or more parts) · got 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (split into two or more parts) · cs dělit (divide up; share by dividing) · sv dividera (calculate quotient) · fa سواییدن (separate into two or more parts) · de aufteilen (split into two or more parts) · eo dividi (divide up; share by dividing) · uk діли́ти (split into two or more parts) · lt padalinti (divide up; share by dividing) · it spartirsi (divide up; share by dividing) · enm scheden (separate into two or more parts) · is hluta (split into two or more parts) · pl podzielić (divide up; share by dividing) · pt dividir (divide up; share by dividing) · ru разделя́ть (split into two or more parts) · zdj upasua (split into two or more parts) · no dividere (calculate quotient) · mdh baad (split into two or more parts) · cmn 隔 (split into two or more parts) · ro se diviza (of a cell) · it dividere (divide up; share by dividing) · ltg daleit (split into two or more parts) · it dividere (calculate quotient) · ga roinn (split into two or more parts) · sv klyva (split into two or more parts) · pt dividir (calculate quotient) · bg разде́лям (divide up; share by dividing) · km ចែក (calculate quotient) · dsb źěliś (split into two or more parts) · so qaybin (split into two or more parts) · ln kabola (split into two or more parts) · fr se diviser (separate into two or more parts) · pt separar (split into two or more parts) · pl dzielić (calculate quotient) · es desunir (separate into two or more parts) · fa بخشیدن (divide up; share by dividing) · es desunir (split into two or more parts) · he פיצל (split into two or more parts) · grc χωρίζω (split into two or more parts) · sh dijeliti (split into two or more parts) · mi whakawehe (separate into two or more parts) · gl repartir (divide up; share by dividing) · ru дели́ть (calculate quotient) · nl verdelen (split into two or more parts) · ko 나누다 (calculate quotient) · no dele (calculate quotient) · th หาร (calculate quotient) · fi jakaa (divide up; share by dividing) · ast dividir (calculate quotient) · alt бӧлӧр (split into two or more parts) · vi chia (split into two or more parts) · bg разделям (separate into two or more parts) · tl hatiin (calculate quotient) · nl delen (calculate quotient) · pa وَنْڈݨا (divide up; share by dividing) · ru дели́ть (split into two or more parts) · ga roinn (separate into two or more parts) · sw -gawa (split into two or more parts) · az bölmək (split into two or more parts) · ro divide (divide up; share by dividing) · mrw bagi' (split into two or more parts) · eo partigi (divide up; share by dividing) · scn spàrtiri (divide up; share by dividing) · mbb ba'ad (split into two or more parts) · pl dzielić (split into two or more parts) · nmn khàla (split into two or more parts) · sga rannaid (split into two or more parts) · ms bahagian (split into two or more parts) · be дзялі́ць (calculate quotient) · ro se diviza (separate into two or more parts) · la dīvidō (split into two or more parts) · mn хуваах (calculate quotient) · eo disigi (split into two or more parts) · pt partir (separate into two or more parts) · fi jakaa (calculate quotient) · hu feloszt (split into two or more parts) · bg разде́лям (split into two or more parts) · oc dividir (split into two or more parts) · te పంచుకొను (divide up; share by dividing) · sk rozdeliť (split into two or more parts) · de einteilen (split into two or more parts) · he חילק (divide up; share by dividing) · grc διαιρέω (split into two or more parts) · ang tōdǣlan (split into two or more parts) · da dividere (calculate quotient) · ga roinn (of a cell) · es repartir (divide up; share by dividing) · cmn 分裂 (split into two or more parts) · pox ai̯delĕt (split into two or more parts) · ko 쪼개다 (separate into two or more parts) · mi whakawehe (calculate quotient) · pl podzielić (split into two or more parts) · fa جداییدن (separate into two or more parts) · it dividere (split into two or more parts) · scn spàrtiri (separate into two or more parts) · ro despărți (split into two or more parts) · jv dum (split into two or more parts) · gl dividir (divide up; share by dividing) · et jagama (split into two or more parts) · gl dividir (split into two or more parts) · tl maghati (calculate quotient) · es devisar (split into two or more parts) · scn divìdiri (calculate quotient) · tl hatiin (divide up; share by dividing) · mrw ba'ad (split into two or more parts) · ko 가르다 (split into two or more parts) · zza heti kerden (split into two or more parts) · fr se diviser (of a cell) · pt dividir-se (separate into two or more parts) · scn scucchiari (separate into two or more parts) · ru раздели́ть (calculate quotient) · nap sparte (divide up; share by dividing) · cs dělit (split into two or more parts) · dsb źěliś (divide up; share by dividing) · lt dalinti (split into two or more parts) · te భాగించు (calculate quotient) · ar قَسَّمَ (calculate quotient) · ga roinn (calculate quotient) · fi jakautua (separate into two or more parts) · eo onigi (calculate quotient) · ca dividir (calculate quotient) · it spartire (divide up; share by dividing) · ja 割る (calculate quotient) · ro împărți (split into two or more parts) · ja 分割する (split into two or more parts) · sq pjesëtoj (split into two or more parts) · mi kokoti (split into two or more parts) · de dividieren (calculate quotient) · sk deliť (split into two or more parts) · eo onigi (split into two or more parts) · bg деля се (of a cell) · pl dzielić (divide up; share by dividing) · fr partager (divide up; share by dividing) · gl dividir (calculate quotient) · pt dividir (split into two or more parts) · ro diviza (calculate quotient) · cmn 除 (calculate quotient) · bg деля́ (calculate quotient) · mi kōwaewae (split into two or more parts) · scn spàrtiri (split into two or more parts) · sw -gawa (divide up; share by dividing) · cs dělit (calculate quotient) · nl delen (divide up; share by dividing) · ga roinn (divide up; share by dividing) · qu rakiy (divide up; share by dividing) · hy կիսել (split into two or more parts) · pox ai̯delĕt (divide up; share by dividing) · ko 나누다 (split into two or more parts) · es dividir (calculate quotient) · sv dela sig (of a cell) · vi chia (calculate quotient) · lt išskirti (split into two or more parts) · bni kabola (split into two or more parts) · scn spartìrisi (divide up; share by dividing) · fr diviser (calculate quotient) · es dividir (split into two or more parts) · eo dividi (calculate quotient) · fi jakaa (split into two or more parts) · ro diviza (split into two or more parts) · grc μερίζω (split into two or more parts) · ca dividir (divide up; share by dividing) · sq pjesëtoj (divide up; share by dividing) · eu zatitu (calculate quotient) · hy բաժանել (divide up; share by dividing) · mi wehe (split into two or more parts) · ko 나누다 (divide up; share by dividing) · pt separar-se (separate into two or more parts) · lv dalīt (split into two or more parts) · rup mpartu (split into two or more parts) · hu oszt (split into two or more parts) · hy բաժանել (calculate quotient) · txb putk- (split into two or more parts) · mi tāuteute (split into two or more parts) · hy կիսել (divide up; share by dividing) · egy Q3:O34-N37:Z9-Y1 (divide up; share by dividing) · de teilen (divide up; share by dividing) · ban dum (split into two or more parts) · sa भजति (divide up; share by dividing) · km ហារ (calculate quotient) · be дзялі́ць (split into two or more parts) · he חילק (split into two or more parts) · fr diviser (split into two or more parts) · ar قَسَّمَ (split into two or more parts) · ja 分ける (split into two or more parts) · hu oszt (calculate quotient) · sv dela (divide up; share by dividing) · te విభజించు (split into two or more parts) · pa وَنْڈݨا (split into two or more parts) · mi kōwae (split into two or more parts) · it dividersi (separate into two or more parts) · eo partigi (calculate quotient) · fr fendre (split into two or more parts) · es cisionar (split into two or more parts) · de teilen (split into two or more parts) · el μοιράζω (divide up; share by dividing) · ca dividir (split into two or more parts) · cmn 分 (split into two or more parts) · fa قسمیدن (split into two or more parts) · nv ałtsʼájíniłgo (calculate quotient) · fi jakautua (of a cell) · et jagama (divide up; share by dividing)