Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To divide. Often used with up:
  • noun A share or portion.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To go shares.
  • noun A dividend; an amount to be divided or shared by the members of a party or ring.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun British a dividend, especially one paid by a cooperative society.
  • verb colloq. divide up among a group; distribute; -- often followed by up.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A share or portion
  • noun UK A dividend, especially one from the Co-op
  • verb To divide something into portions.
  • noun A foolish person.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun short for dividend; especially one paid by a cooperative society

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Shortening and alteration of dividend.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Possibly from divide.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First appearance in San Diego's Daily World, 22 Sept 1872, as "divy," apparent abbreviation for "division."

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Examples

Comments

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  • Different dictionaries list this as either a shortening of dividend or divide.

    October 22, 2007

  • I've always thought of it as short for divide, as in "divvy up the spoils." However, I did know a girl in high school with the given name of "Divvie." Her father was a insurance broker and she was his dividend, according to her.

    October 22, 2007

  • Also British slang for a slow or gormless person. E.g. "Bob you divvy, Africa's a continent not a country!"

    October 22, 2007

  • Often shortened to div, in my experience.

    October 22, 2007

  • Sounds like it could be short for either word, seeing as how one is a noun and one is a verb. I mean heck, isn't divide really just the verb form of dividend anyway?

    October 23, 2007