English
device
Device comes from Middle English devis, from Old French devis ‘division’, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō ‘to divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-‘to separate’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiðōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*vidōreconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidō‘to divide’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsus‘divided’past participle of dīvidō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400devis‘division’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1611device
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weydʰh₁-‘to separate’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiðōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*vidōreconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvidō‘to divide’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvīsus‘divided’past participle of dīvidō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400devis‘division’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1611device
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “His device is against Babylon, to destroy it.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- ‘to separate, divide’
wood, wide, widow, fid, 11 more
through Latin *vidō
through Latin dīvidō ‘to divide’
individual, divide, divisible, 6 more
through Latin dīvīsus ‘divided, separated’
Today it means
noun Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- / device