- divinely (adv.)
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- 1580s, from divine (adj.) + -ly (2).
- divinity (n.)
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- c. 1300, "science of divine things;" late 14c., "quality of being divine," also "a divine being," from Old French devinité (12c.), from Latin divinitatem (nominative divinitas), from divinus (see divine (adj.)).
- divisible (adj.)
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- early 15c., from Old French divisibile, from Late Latin divisibilis, from divis-, past participle stem of Latin dividere (see divide (v.)).
- division (n.)
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- late 14c., from Old French division, from Latin divisionem (nominative divisio), from divid-, stem of dividere (see divide). Military sense is first recorded 1590s. Mathematical sense is from early 15c. The mathematical division sign supposedly was invented by British mathematician John Pell (1611-1685) who taught at Cambridge and Amsterdam.
- divisive (adj.)
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- c. 1600, "having a quality of dividing," from Latin divis-, past participle stem of dividere (see divide (v.)) + -ive. Meaning "producing discord" is from 1640s. Related: Divisively; divisiveness.
- divisor (n.)
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- early 15c., Latin agent noun from dividere (see divide (v.)).
- divorce (n.)
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- late 14c., from Old French divorce (14c.), from Latin divortium "separation, dissolution of marriage," from divertere "to separate, leave one's husband, turn aside" (see divert). Not distinguished in English from legal separation until mid-19c.
- divorce (v.)
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- late 14c., from Old French divorcer, from divorce (see divorce (n.)). Related: Divorced; divorcing.
- divorcee (n.)
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- "divorced woman," 1813, from French divorcée, noun use of fem. past participle of divorcer (see divorce (v.)). The male equivalent in French is divorcé.
- divot (n.)
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- 1530s, from Scottish, literally "piece of turf or sod" used for roofing material, etc., of unknown origin. The golfing sense is from 1886.
- divulge (v.)
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- mid-15c., from Latin divulgare "publish, make common," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + vulgare "make common property," from vulgus "common people" (see vulgar). Related: Divulged; divulging.
- divvy (v.)
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- 1872, American English, originally a noun, a slang shortening of dividend; the verb was in use by 1877 and is primary now (the noun is not in "Webster's New World Dictionary"), leading some (such as "Webster's") to think the word is a slang alteration of divide. Related: Divvying. In early 20c. British slang the same word was a shortening of divine (adj.).
- Dixie (n.)
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- 1859, first attested in the song of that name, which was popularized, if not written, by Ohio-born U.S. minstrel musician and songwriter Dan Emmett (1815-1904); perhaps a reference to the Mason-Dixon Line, but there are other well-publicized theories dating back to the Civil War. Popularized nationwide in minstrel shows. Dixieland style of jazz developed in New Orleans c. 1910, so called from 1919.
- Dixiecrat (n.)
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- in U.S. politics, 1948, from Dixie + ending from Democrat.
- dizziness (n.)
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- Old English dysignesse; see dizzy + -ness.
- dizzy (adj.)
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- Old English dysig "foolish, stupid," from Proto-Germanic *dusijaz (source also of Low German düsig "dizzy," Dutch duizelen "to be dizzy," Old High German dusig "foolish," German Tor "fool," Old English dwæs, Dutch dwaas "foolish"), perhaps from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke; to rise in a cloud" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits").
Meaning "having a whirling sensation" is from mid-14c.; that of "giddy" is from c. 1500 and seems to merge the two earlier meanings. Used of the "foolish virgins" in early translations of Matthew xxv; used especially of blondes since 1870s. Related: Dizzily.
- dizzy (v.)
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- Old English dysigan, from source of dizzy (adj.). Related: Dizzied; dizzying.
- DNA (n.)
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- 1944, abbreviation of deoxyribonucleic acid (1931).
- do (v.)
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- Middle English do, first person singular of Old English don "make, act, perform, cause; to put, to place," from West Germanic *don (source also of Old Saxon duan, Old Frisian dua, Dutch doen, Old High German tuon, German tun), from PIE root *dhe- "to put, place, do, make" (see factitious).
Use as an auxiliary began in Middle English. Periphrastic form in negative sentences ("They did not think") replaced the Old English negative particles ("Hie ne wendon"). Slang meaning "to do the sex act with or to" is from 1913. Expression do or die is attested from 1620s.
Compare does, did, done.
- do (n.)
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- first (and last) note of the diatonic scale, by 1754, from do, used as a substitution for ut (see gamut) for sonority's sake, first in Italy and Germany. U.S. slang do-re-mi "money" is from 1920s, probably a pun on dough in its slang sense of "cash."
- do-gooder (n.)
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- "a person who seeks to correct social ills in an idealistic, but usually impractical or superficial, way," 1650s (as do-good), in "Zootomia, or Observations on the Present Manners of the English: Briefly Anatomizing the Living by the Dead. With An Usefull Detection of the Mountebanks of Both Sexes," written by Richard Whitlock, a medical doctor. Probably used even then with a taint of impractical idealism. Modern pejorative use seems to have begun on the socialist left, mocking those who were unwilling to take a hard line. OED has this citation, from "The Nation" in 1923:
There is nothing the matter with the United States except ... the parlor socialists, up-lifters, and do-goods.
The form do-gooder appears in American English from 1927, presumably because do-good was no longer felt as sufficiently noun-like. A slightly older word for this was goo-goo.
- do-it-yourself
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- as a modifier, attested by 1941. The expression is much older.
- do-rag (n.)
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- by 1973 (said to date to 1960s in DAS), African-American vernacular, from hairdo + rag (n.).
- do-si-do
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- 1929, from French dos-à-dos "back to back" (see dossier).
- DOA
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- also d.o.a., 1929, police slang abbreviation of dead on arrival.
- doable (adj.)
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- mid-15c., from do (v.) + -able.
- dobbie (n.)
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- "household sprite," 1811, from playful use of the proper name represented in dobbin (q.v.). In Sussex, such apparitions were called Master Dobbs.
- dobbin (n.)
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- "farm horse," 1596 (in "Merchant of Venice"), probably from diminutive form of Dob (early 13c.), common Middle English familiar form of masc. proper name Robin or Robert; personal name applied to a horse.
- Dobermann pinscher (n.)
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- 1917, for Ludwig Dobermann, 19c. German dog-breeder in Thuringia. Pinscher "fox terrier" seems to be a 19c. borrowing from English pinch (see Kluge).
Der Kutscher aus gutem Hause verschafft sich, wie er kann und wenn er kann, einen ganz kleinen englischen Pinscher, der den Pferden sehr gut gut folgt und die großen Dänen von ehedem ersetzt hat, aus J.J. Rousseau's Zeit, der von dem dänischen Hunde umgerannt wurde, wie ihr wißt. ["Paris, oder, Das Buch der Hundert und Ein," Volume 6, Theodor Hell (pseud.), Potsdam, 1833]
- dobro (n.)
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- 1952, American English, contracted from the name of its Slovakia-born inventors, the Dopera Brothers (John, Rudy, Emil). The word also happens to mean "good thing" in Slovak. Patent filed 1947, claims use from 1929.
- doc (n.)
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- familiar form of doctor, first recorded c. 1850.
- docent (adj.)
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- 1630s, from Latin docentem (nominative docens), present participle of docere "to teach" (see doctor). As a noun, from 1880.
- Docetism (n.)
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- 1846, heresy of the Docetae, who held that the body of Jesus was a phantom, from Greek Doketai, name of the sect, literally "believers," from dokein "to seem, have the appearance of, think," related to doxa (see decent).
- docile (adj.)
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- late 15c., "easily taught," from Italian or French docile, from Latin docilis "easily taught," from docere "teach" (see doctor). Sense of "obedient, submissive" first recorded 1774.
- docility (n.)
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- 1550s, from French docilité (15c.), from Latin docilitatem (nominative docilitas), from docilis (see docile).
- docimacy (n.)
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- "judicial inquiry into the character of aspirants for office or citizenship," especially in ancient Athens, 1801, from Greek dokimasia "assay, proving, examination," from stem of dokimazein "to test, prove," from dokimos "proven, genuine," literally "accepted," related to dekhesthai "to take, accept," cognate with Latin decere "to be seemly or fitting" (see decent).
- dock (n.1)
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- "ship's berth," late 15c., from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German docke, perhaps ultimately (via Late Latin *ductia "aqueduct") from Latin ducere "to lead" (see duke (n.)); or possibly from a Scandinavian word for "low ground" (compare Norwegian dokk "hollow, low ground"). Original sense perhaps "furrow a grounded vessel makes in a mud bank." As a verb from 1510s. Related: Docked; docking.
- dock (n.2)
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- "where accused stands in court," 1580s, originally rogue's slang, from Flemish dok "pen or cage for animals," origin unknown.
- dock (v.)
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- "cut an animal's tail," late 14c., from dok (n.) "fleshy part of an animal's tail" (mid-14c.), related to Old English -docca "muscle," from Proto-Germanic *dokko "something round, bundle" (source also of Old Norse dokka "bundle, girl," Danish dukke "doll," German Docke "small column, bundle, doll, smart girl"). Meaning "to reduce (someone's) pay for some infraction" is first recorded 1822. Related: Docked; docking.
- dock (n.3)
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- name for various tall, coarse weeds, Old English docce, from Proto-Germanic *dokkon (source also of Middle Dutch docke-, German Docken-, Old Danish dokka), akin to Middle High German tocke "bundle, tuft," and ultimately to the noun source of dock (v.).
- docket (n.)
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- mid-15c., "a summary or abstract," of unknown origin, perhaps a diminutive form related to dock (v.). An early form was doggette. Meaning "list of lawsuits to be tried" is from 1709.
- docksider (n.)
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- 1969 as "person who frequents docks," 1974 as the name of a type of shoe, "a cheaper version of the topsider;" from dock (n.1) + side (n.).
- doctor (n.)
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- c. 1300, "Church father," from Old French doctour, from Medieval Latin doctor "religious teacher, adviser, scholar," in classical Latin "teacher," agent noun from docere "to show, teach, cause to know," originally "make to appear right," causative of decere "be seemly, fitting" (see decent).
Meaning "holder of highest degree in university" is first found late 14c.; as is that of "medical professional" (replacing native leech (n.2)), though this was not common till late 16c. The transitional stage is exemplified in Chaucer's Doctor of phesike (Latin physica came to be used extensively in Medieval Latin for medicina). Similar usage of the equivalent of doctor is colloquial in most European languages: Italian dottore, French docteur, German doktor, Lithuanian daktaras, though these are typically not the main word in those languages for a medical healer. For similar evolution, see Sanskrit vaidya- "medical doctor," literally "one versed in science." German Arzt, Dutch arts are from Late Latin archiater, from Greek arkhiatros "chief healer," hence "court physician." French médecin is a back-formation from médicine, replacing Old French miege, from Latin medicus.
- doctor (v.)
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- 1590s, "to confer a degree on," from doctor (n.). Meaning "to treat medically" is from 1712; sense of "alter, disguise, falsify" is from 1774. Related: Doctored; doctoring.
- Doctor Martens
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- type of heavy walking boots, 1977 (use claimed from 1965), trademark name taken out by Herbert Funck and Klaus Martens of West Germany.
- doctorate (n.)
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- "degree of a doctor," 1670s; see doctor (n.) + -ate (1).
- doctrinaire (n.)
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- 1820, from French doctrinaire "impractical person," originally "adherent of doctrines" (14c.), from Latin doctrina (see doctrine).
At first used in the context of French politics, contemptuously applied by rival factions to those who tried to reconcile liberty with royal authority after 1815. Hence, anyone who applies doctrine without making allowance for practical considerations (1831). As an adjective, from 1834.
- doctrinal (adj.)
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- "pertaining to doctrines," 1560s, from Late Latin doctrinalis, from doctrina (see doctrine). Attested from mid-15c. as the title of a text book (from Middle French doctrinal).
- doctrine (n.)
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- late 14c., from Old French doctrine (12c.) "teaching, doctrine," and directly from Latin doctrina "teaching, body of teachings, learning," from doctor "teacher" (see doctor (n.)) + -ina, fem. of -inus, suffix forming fem. abstract nouns (see -ine (1)).
- document (n.)
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- early 15c., "teaching, instruction," from Old French document (13c.) "lesson, written evidence," from Latin documentum "example, proof, lesson," in Medieval Latin "official written instrument," from docere "to show, teach" (see doctor (n.)). Meaning "something written that provides proof or evidence" is from early 18c. Related: Documents.