Etymograph

English

divination

Divination comes from Latin divinatio ‘divination, prophecy’, from Proto-Italic *deiwos ‘god, deity’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘to be bright, to shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-1‘to be bright, to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deywós1‘god’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwos1‘god, deity’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwīnos1‘divine’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīnus1‘divine, inspired, prophetic’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīnō2
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdivinatio3‘divination, prophecy’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400divination3
  9. Englishtodaydivination3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin divino
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin divinatio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English divination

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-Wiktionary, Latin divino‘to be bright, to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deywósWiktionary, Latin divino‘god’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwosWiktionary, Latin divino‘god, deity’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deiwīnosWiktionary, Latin divino‘divine’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīnusWiktionary, Latin divino‘divine, inspired, prophetic’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīnōWiktionary, Latin divinatio
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdivinatioWiktionary, English divination‘divination, prophecy’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400divinationWiktionary, English divination
  9. EnglishtodaydivinationWiktionary, English divination

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘to be bright, to shine’

die, journey, journal, diary, dev, dial, meridian, sojourn, jovial, diurnal, deism, deist, 31 more

through Proto-Indo-European *deywós ‘god’

div, deva, 18 more

through Proto-Italic *deiwos ‘god, deity’

deity, joss, diva, deuce, 14 more

Today it means

noun The act of divining; a foreseeing or foretelling of future events.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “divination”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin divino, Latin divinatio. 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 *dyew- / divination

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