Etymograph

English

diverse

Diverse comes from Latin dīversus ‘different, diverse’, from vertō ‘to turn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to rotate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to rotate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvertō‘to divert, turn away’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīversus‘different, diverse’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400divers
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500divers‘different, divergent’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1523diverse

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to rotate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīvertō‘to divert, turn away’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīversus‘different, diverse’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400divers
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500divers‘different, divergent’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1523diverse

Earliest quotation: 1523, Johan Froyssart [i.e.: “This kyng Edward the .ii. father to the noble…”

The story

The adjective is derived from Middle English divers, diverse (‘different, divergent’), from Anglo-Norman divers, Anglo-Norman divers, and Old French divers (‘different; of various kinds’) (modern French divers), and directly from their etymon Latin dīversus (‘different, diverse’), an adjective use of the perfect passive participle of dīvertō (‘to divert, turn away’), from dī- (variant of dis- (prefix meaning ‘apart, in two’)) + vertō (‘to turn’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (‘to rotate; to turn’)).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to rotate’

word, worth, weird, ridiculous, universe, ridicule, derision, invert, deride, wurst, derisive, extraversion, 60 more

through Proto-Italic *wertō

inversion, aversion, transverse, vertebra, perversion, reversion, evert, vertiginous, 43 more

through Latin vertō ‘to turn’

university, version, conversation, divorce, vertical, versus, vortex, advertisement, convertible, versatile, adverse, advert, revert, pervert, adversity, vertex, vertigo, avert, vertebrate, inverse, introvert, subvert, vert, perverse, averse, verso, perversity, 50 more

Another origin of diverse

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiversare‘to differ’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400diverser
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500diversen‘to differ, diverge’
  4. Englishtodaydiverse

Etymology 2 sense 1 (‘synonym of diversify’) became obsolete in the 16th century, and was probably recoined in the 20th century.

Today it means

adj Consisting of different elements; various.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / diverse

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