Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “divine” come from?

Divine comes from Old French divin, from Latin divinus, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European dyew-, meaning sky or god, with formative suffixes -iHnos and -no-.

divine (English): Of or pertaining to a god; Eternal, holy, or...

Definitions

  1. Of or pertaining to a god; Eternal, holy, or...

Ancestry of “divine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchdeviner—
2LatindivinoI foresee, foretell, divine; I prophesy; I guess
3Latindīvīnus—
4Latindīvus—
5Old Latindeivosgod, deity
6Proto-Italicdeiwosgod, deity
7Proto-Indo-Europeandeywósgod
8Proto-Indo-Europeandyew-to be bright; sky, heaven

Words derived from “divine”

  • divinely
  • divining
  • divinization
  • divineness
  • semidivine
  • undivine
  • divinize
  • nondivine
  • divineth
  • divinement
  • divinise
  • divinable
  • divinelike
  • diviningly
  • undivinely
  • undivining
  • subdivine
  • divinish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dyew- →