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Origin and history of dividend

dividend(n.)

early 15c., divident, "that which serves as a barrier;"c. 1500, "act of dividing;" from Latin dividendum "thing to be divided," neuter gerundive of dividere "to force apart; to distribute" (see divide (v.)).

From late 15c. as "portion or share of anything to be divided." Sense of "sum to be divided into equal parts" is from 1620s, hence "portion of interest on a loan, stock, etc." Mathematical sense "number or quantity which is to be divided by another" is from 1540s (perhaps immediately from French dividende "a number divided by another"). Related: Dividends.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to dividend

divide(v.)

early 14c., "separate into parts or pieces," from Latin dividere "to force apart, cleave, distribute," from assimilated form of dis- "apart" (see dis-) + -videre "to separate," which, according to de Vaan, is from PIE *(d)uid- "to separate, distinguish" (source also of Sanskrit avidhat "allotted," Old Avestan vida- "to devote oneself to"). He writes: "The original PIE verb ... (which became thematic in Latin) meant 'to divide in two, separate'. It lost initial *d- through dissimilation in front of the next dental stop, and was reinforced by dis- in Latin ...." Also compare devise.

It is attested from late 14c. as "sever the union or connection with," also "disunite, cause to disagree in opinion." Intransitive sense of "become separated into parts" is from 1520s. Mathematical sense "perform the operation of division" is from early 15c. Divide and rule (c. 1600) translates Latin divide et impera, a maxim of Machiavelli. Related: Divided; dividing.

divvy(v.)

"to divide (up)," 1877, American English, originally a noun (1865), a slang shortening of dividend. The verb 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.).

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    denominator
    term of a fraction which indicates the value of the fractional unit" (commonly the number written below the numerator or dividend...
    lagniappe
    also lagnappe, "dividend, something extra, present or extra item given by a dealer to a customer to encourage patronage,"...
    bonus
    Specifically as "extra dividend paid to shareholders from surplus profits" from 1808....
    incentive
    early 15c., "that which moves the mind or stirs the passion," from Late Latin incentivum, noun use of neuter of Latin adjective incentivus "setting the tune" (in Late Latin "inciting"), from past participle stem of incinere "strike up," from in- "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in"
    profit
    mid-13c., "income derived from an office, property, transaction, etc.;" c. 1300, "benefit, spiritual benefit, advantage;" from Old French prufit, porfit "profit, gain" (mid-12c.), from Latin profectus "growth, advance, increase, success, progress," noun use of past participle of
    cruel
    c. 1200, "stern;" early 13c., of suffering, death, etc., "attended by much distress;" c. 1300, "inclined or willing to make another suffer, disposed to inflict suffering, mental or physical, on any sentient being," from Old French cruel (12c.), earlier crudel, from Latin crudelis
    lucre
    "gain in money or goods, profit," late 14c., from Old French lucre, from Latin lucrum "material gain, advantage, profit; wealth, riches," of uncertain origin. De Vaan says from Proto-Italic *lukro-, from PIE *lhu-tlo- "seizure, gain," with cognates in Greek apolauo "take hold of,
    net
    Old English net "open textile fabric tied or woven with a mesh for catching fish, birds, or wild animals alive; network; spider web," also figuratively, "moral or mental snare or trap," from Proto-Germanic *natjo- (source also of Old Saxon net, Old Frisian nette, Old Norse, Dutch
    ten
    "1 more than nine, twice five; the number which is one more than nine; a symbol representing this number;" Old English ten (Mercian), tien (West Saxon), adjective and noun, from Proto-Germanic *tehun (source also of Old Saxon tehan, Old Norse tiu, Danish ti, Old Frisian tian, Old
    number
    c. 1300, "sum, aggregate of a collection," from Anglo-French noumbre, Old French nombre and directly from Latin numerus "a number, quantity," from PIE root *nem- "assign, allot; take." The meaning "written symbol or figure of arithmetic value" is from late 14c. The meaning "singl

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