divine

divine
\ \ [14] Like deity, divine comes ultimately from Indo-European *deiwos, an ancestor whose godly connotations seem to have developed from earlier associations with ‘sky’ and ‘day’, and which probably originally meant ‘shining’. Its Latin descendants included deusgod’ (source of English deity) and the adjective dīvusgodlike’ (the noun use of its feminine form, dīva, for ‘goddess’ entered English via Italian as divaprima donna’ [19]). From dīvus was derived the further adjective dīvīnus, which became Old French devin and eventually English divine. Dīvīnus was used as a noun meaning, in classical times, ‘soothsayer’ (whence, via the Latin derivative dīvīnāre, the English verb divine) and in the Middle Ages ‘theologian’ (whence the nominal use of English divine in the same sense).
\ \ Cf.DEITY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Divine — may refer to: the concept of divinity, related to holiness and the supernatural one who studies Divinity (academic discipline) an Anglican divine, one who is learned in theology Divine (actor), Harris Glenn Milstead, actor and singer, best known… …   Wikipedia

  • Divine — Di*vine , a. [Compar. {Diviner}; superl. {Divinest}.] [F. divin, L. divinus divine, divinely inspired, fr. divus, dius, belonging to a deity; akin to Gr. ?, and L. deus, God. See {Deity}.] 1. Of or belonging to God; as, divine perfections; the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Divine.ca — is a Canadian online magazine with content updated each weekday. Its target audience (pitched to advertisers) is women aged 19 34. Its aim is to focus on Canadian content. Reviews and articles about fashion, relationships and nutrition are a… …   Wikipedia

  • divine — Ⅰ. divine [1] ► ADJECTIVE (diviner, divinest) 1) of, from, or like God or a god. 2) informal excellent. ► NOUN 1) dated a cleric or theologian. 2) ( …   English terms dictionary

  • Divine — Di*vine , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Divined}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Divining}.] [L. divinare: cf. F. deviner. See {Divination}.] 1. To foresee or foreknow; to detect; to anticipate; to conjecture. [1913 Webster] A sagacity which divined the evil designs.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Divine — Di*vine , v. i. 1. To use or practice divination; to foretell by divination; to utter prognostications. [1913 Webster] The prophets thereof divine for money. Micah iii. 11. [1913 Webster] 2. To have or feel a presage or foreboding. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • DIVINE² — (parfois DIVINE simplement) est un système d information émis par ondes Wi Fi sur un secteur donné et réceptionné sur divers terminaux portables. Le nom est formé par l acronyme de DIffusion de Vidéo et Image vers des termiNaux hEtérogènes. C est …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Divine — Di*vine , n. [L. divinus a soothsayer, LL., a theologian. See {Divine}, a.] 1. One skilled in divinity; a theologian. Poets were the first divines. Denham. [1913 Webster] 2. A minister of the gospel; a priest; a clergyman. [1913 Webster] The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • divine — adj *holy, sacred, spiritual, religious, blessed divine vb *foresee, foreknow, apprehend, anticipate Analogous words: discern, perceive, descry (see SEE): predict, prophesy, prognosticate, presage (see FORETELL) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • divine — [adj] godlike, perfect all powerful, almighty, ambrosial, angelic, anointed, beatific, beautiful, blissful, celestial, consecrated, deific, deistic, eternal, exalted, excellent, glorious, godly, hallowed, heavenly, holy, immaculate, magnificent,… …   New thesaurus

  • divine — index anticipate (prognosticate), assume (suppose), construe (comprehend), deduce, deduct (conclude by reasoning) …   Law dictionary

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