Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “divorce” come from?

divorce (Old French) comes from Latin dīvortium, from Latin dīvertere, from Latin dīvertō, from Latin dī-, from Ancient Greek δί-, from Ancient Greek διά, from Proto-Indo-European dwís, from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ — two.

Ancestry of “divorce”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latindīvortium—
2Latindīvertere—
3Latindīvertō—
4Latindī-—
5Ancient Greekδί-—
6Ancient Greekδιάthroughout
7Proto-Indo-Europeandwístwice, doubly; in two
8Proto-Indo-Europeandwóh₁two

Words derived from “divorce”

  • divorce
  • divorcing
  • divorcement
  • postdivorce
  • divorcer
  • predivorce
  • antidivorce
  • divorceless
  • divorceth
  • undivorceable
  • divorceable
  • nondivorce
  • divorcive
  • divorcible
  • nondivorcing
  • divortiality
  • divorco
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ →