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Origin and history of division

division(n.)

late 14c., divisioun, "act of separating into parts, portions, or shares; a part separated or distinguished from the rest; state of being at variance in sentiment or interest," from Old French division and directly from Latin divisionem (nominative divisio), noun of action from past-participle stem of dividere "to divide" (see divide (v.)).

Military sense "portion of an army, fleet, or ship's company" is from 1590s. Mathematical sense of "operation inverse to multiplication" is from late 14c. The mathematical division sign supposedly was invented by British mathematician John Pell (1611-1685) who taught at Cambridge and Amsterdam.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to division

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.

divisional(adj.)

"of or pertaining to division or a division," 1738; see division + -al (1).

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subdivide
also sub-divide, early 15c., subdividen, transitive, "divide (something) farther into smaller portions, re-divide after a first division," from Late Latin subdividere from sub in the sense of "resulting from further division" (see sub-) + Latin dividere (see division). The intran
class
c. 1600, "group of students," in U.S. especially "number of pupils in a school or college of the same grade," from French classe (14c.), from Latin classis "a class, a division; army, fleet," especially "any one of the six orders into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman peopl
part
mid-13c., "division, portion of a whole, element or constituent (of something)," from Old French part "share, portion; character; power, dominion; side, way, path," from Latin partem (nominative pars) "a part, piece, a share, a division; a party or faction; a part of the body; a
township
Applied in Middle English to "manor, parish, or other division of a hundred."...Specific sense of "local division or district in a parish, each with a village or small town and its own church" is from...1530s; as a local municipal division of a county in U.S. and Canada, first recorded 1685....
share
something belonging to an individual], Middle English share, from Old English scearu "a cutting, shearing, tonsure; a part or division...In Old English mostly in compounds: landscearu "a share of land," folcscearu "a division of the people."...The same Old English noun in the sense "division" led to an obsolete noun share "fork ('division') of the body at the groin...
tidings
"occurring," both from Proto-Germanic tīdōjanan, from PIE *di-ti- "division, division of time," suffixed form of root *da...
partition
c. 1400, particioun, "division into shares, distinction," from Old French particion (12c.), from Latin partitionem (nominative...partitio) "a sharing, division, partition, distribution; method of dividing," from past participle stem of partire "to part...
wing
late 12c., wenge, "forelimb fitted for flight of a bird or bat," also the part of some insects resembling a wing in form or function, from Old Norse vængr "wing of a bird, aisle, etc." (cognate with Danish and Swedish vinge "wing"), of unknown origin, perhaps from a Proto-Germani
ram
Old English ramm "male sheep," also "battering ram, instrument for crushing or driving by impact," and the zodiac sign; earlier rom "male sheep," a West Germanic word (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German ram), of unknown origin. Perhaps [Klein] conne
mar
Middle English merren "to deface, disfigure; impair in form or substance" (early 13c.), from Old English merran (Anglian), mierran (West Saxon) "to waste, spoil," from Proto-Germanic *marzjan (source also of Old Frisian meria, Old High German marren "to hinder, obstruct," Gothic

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