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Origin and history of Dives

Dives

traditional name for a rich man, late 14c., from Latin dives "rich (man)," related to divus "divine," and originally meaning "favored by the gods" (see divine (adj.)). Also compare Dis. It was used in Luke xvi in Vulgate and from this it has been commonly mistaken as the proper name of the man in the parable. 

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to Dives

dis(v.)

also diss, slang, by 1980, shortening of disrespect or dismiss, originally in African-American vernacular, popularized by hip hop. Related: Dissed; dissing. Earlier it was short for distribute in late 19c. printers' slang and for disconnected in the telephone-line sense, and in this sense it was given a slang figurative extension as "weak in the head" (1925).

divine(adj.)

late 14c., "pertaining to, of the nature of, or proceeding from God or a god; addressed to God," from Old French divin, devin (12c.), from Latin divinus "of a god," from divus "of or belonging to a god, inspired, prophetic," related to deus "god, deity" (from PIE root *dyeu- "to shine," in derivatives "sky, heaven, god").

The weakened sense of "excellent in the highest degree, heavenly" had evolved by late 15c. The phrase divine right, indicating one conferred by or based on ordinance of God, is from c. 1600.

*dyeu-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to shine," in derivatives "sky, heaven, god."

It might form all or part of: adieu; adios; adjourn; Asmodeus; circadian; deific; deify; deism; deity; deodand; deus ex machina; deva; dial; diary; Diana; Dianthus; diet (n.2) "assembly;" Dioscuri; Dis; dismal; diurnal; diva; Dives; divine; joss; journal; journalist; journey; Jove; jovial; Julia; Julius; July; Jupiter; meridian; Midi; per diem; psychedelic; quotidian; sojourn; Tuesday; Zeus.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit deva "god" (literally "shining one"); diva "by day;" Avestan dava- "spirit, demon;" Greek delos "clear;" Latin dies "day," deus "god;" Welsh diw, Breton deiz "day;" Armenian tiw "day;" Lithuanian dievas "god," diena "day;" Old Church Slavonic dini, Polish dzień, Russian den "day;" Old Norse tivar "gods;" Old English Tig, genitive Tiwes, name of a god.

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    descend
    c. 1300, descenden, "move or pass from a higher to a lower place," from Old French descendre (10c.) "descend, dismount; fall into; originate in" and directly from Latin descendere "come down, descend, sink," from de "down" (see de-) + scandere "to climb," from PIE root *skand- "j
    Regina
    fem. proper name, from Latin, literally "queen;" related to rex (genitive regis) "king" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule"). Cognate with Sanskrit rajni "queen," Welsh rhyain "maiden, virgi
    submerge
    c. 1600 (transitive), "cover with water, inundate" (implied in submerged); 1610s as "put under water, plunge;" from French submerger (14c.) or directly from Latin submergere "to plunge under, sink, overwhelm," from sub "under" (see sub-) + mergere "to plunge, immerse" (see merge)
    dive
    c. 1200, diven, "descend or plunge headfirst into water," from a merger of Old English dufan "to dive, duck, sink" (intransitive, class II strong verb; past tense deaf, past participle dofen) and dyfan "to dip, submerge" (weak, transitive), from Proto-Germanic verb *dubijan, from
    jack-knife
    also jackknife, "pocket knife larger than a pen-knife," 1711, probably American English, apparently from some sense of jack (n.). Perhaps it originally was associated with sailors. Jackleg, jacklegged was a U.S. colloquial term of contempt from 1839. Scottish dialect had jocktele
    swim
    Middle English swimmen, from Old English swimman, of a person, fish, bird, "to move in the water, float on the water, move in water by natural means of locomotion" (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle swummen), from Proto-Germanic *swimjan (source also of Old
    snorkel
    1944, "airshaft for a submarine," from German Schnorchel, from German navy slang Schnorchel "nose, snout," which is related to schnarchen "to snore" (see snore (n.)). So called from some resemblance to a nose or to its noise when activated. The Englished spelling attested by 1949
    plunge
    late 14c., plungen, "to put, throw, or thrust violently into; immerse, submerge," also intransitive, from Old French plongier "plunge, sink into; plunge into, dive in" (mid-12c., Modern French plonger), from Vulgar Latin *plumbicare "to heave the lead," from Latin plumbum "lead"
    club
    c. 1200, "thick stick wielded in the hand and used as a weapon," from Old Norse klubba "cudgel" or a similar Scandinavian source (compare Swedish klubba, Danish klubbe), assimilated from Proto-Germanic *klumbon and related to clump (n.). Old English words for this were sagol, cyc
    jump
    1520s, "make a spring from the ground" (intransitive), a word with no apparent source in Old or Middle English, perhaps imitative (compare bump (v.)); another theory derives it from words in Gallo-Roman dialects of southwestern France (such as jumba "to rock, to balance, swing,"

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