Etymograph

English

division

Division comes from Middle English divisioun, from Old French division, from Latin dīvīsiō, from dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidō1‘to divide’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsus1‘divided’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsiō1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400division1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500divisioun1‘division’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2021division1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English division
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2021, Jennifer Hansler, Pompeo attacks multiculturalism, saying it is ‘not who Ameri: “Woke-ism, multiculturalism, all the -isms — they’re not who…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidōWiktionary, English division‘to divide’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsusWiktionary, English division‘divided’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsiōWiktionary, English division
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400divisionWiktionary, English division
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500divisiounWiktionary, English division‘division’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2021divisionWiktionary, English division. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2021, Jennifer Hansler, Pompeo attacks multiculturalism, saying it is ‘not who Ameri: “Woke-ism, multiculturalism, all the -isms — they’re not who…”

Linked words

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

wide, wood, widow, fid, 12 more

through Latin *vidō ‘to separate’

dividend, 8 more

through Latin dīvidō ‘divide’

individual, divide, 7 more

through Latin dīvīsus ‘divided’

device, devise

Today it means

noun The act or process of dividing anything.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “division”. 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 / Latin dīvidō / division

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