Divided

How to spell divided

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce divided

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does divided mean?

1. verbPast tense of divide: separated into parts, or shared something out among people.
2. adjectiveSplit into separate parts, or showing disagreement and lack of unity.

Divided in a sentence

• verb

  The teacher divided the class into four groups for the project.

• adjective

  The committee remained deeply divided over the new budget.

• verb

  They divided the inheritance equally among the three siblings.

• adjective

  Public opinion was sharply divided on the proposed law.

Where does divided come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb dividere, which meant 'to force apart', 'to separate', or 'to distribute', formed from the prefix dis- meaning 'apart' joined to an element related to an ancient root for separating that also lies behind the word 'widow' (one who is separated). The past participle divisus gave Latin and later languages the sense of something cut or shared into parts. English took the verb 'divide' in the late fourteenth century, partly through Old French diviser and partly straight from the Latin, originally in mathematical and territorial senses. 'Divided' is simply the regular English past tense and past participle, with the spelling staying close to its Latin parent. A handy memory aid is that the single 'd' in the middle of 'divide' doubles only when you add the ending, giving the tidy 'divided' rather than any doubled consonant.

How the word is built

• di- (apart, from dis-)
• vid (to separate, from Latin dividere)
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)