Where does “dive” come from?
dive (English) comes from Middle English diven, from Old English dūfan, from Proto-West Germanic *dūban, from Proto-Germanic dūbaną — to dive, to sink.
dive (English): To swim under water; To jump into water...
Definitions
- To swim under water; To jump into water...
Ancestry of “dive”, step by step
dive traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English diven
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | diven | — |
| 2 | Old English | dūfan | to duck, dive, sink, penetrate; to dive |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *dūban | to dive |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | dūbaną | to dive, to sink |
via Italian dive
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | dive | plural of diva |