Etymograph

English

device

Device comes from Middle English devis, from Old French devis ‘division’, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō ‘to divide’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-1‘to separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiðō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*vidō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidō1‘to divide’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsus1‘divided’past participle of dīvidō
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400devis1‘division’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devis1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611device1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English device
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “His device is against Babylon, to destroy it.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-Wiktionary, English device‘to separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiðōWiktionary, English devicereconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*vidōWiktionary, English devicereconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidōWiktionary, English device‘to divide’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsusWiktionary, English device‘divided’past participle of dīvidō
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400devisWiktionary, English device‘division’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devisWiktionary, English device
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611deviceWiktionary, English device. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “His device is against Babylon, to destroy it.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with device, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- ‘to separate, divide’

  • wood ← wode ← wudu ← widu ← *widu
  • wide ← wid ← wīd ← *wīdaz
  • widow ← widwe ← widuwe ← *widuwā ← *widuwǭ
  • fid ← *widus

through Latin *vidō

  • dividend ← dividende ← dīvidendum ← dīvidō

through Latin dīvidō ‘to divide’

through Latin dīvīsus ‘divided, separated’

  • division ← divisioun ← dīvīsiō
  • devise ← devisen ← deviser ← devisō

24 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “device”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- / device