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divine

UK[dɪˈvaɪn]US[dɪˈvaɪn]
adj

of, from, or like god or a god

adj

excellent, delightful, or beautiful

v

to discover or guess something by intuition or inspiration

Etymology

the english word 'divine' originates from the latin adjective 'divinus', meaning 'of a god' or 'godlike'. this, in turn, is derived from 'divus', meaning 'god' or 'deified', which is related to the older latin noun 'deus' (god). the semantic core has remained remarkably stable, moving from the literal sense of pertaining to a deity to broader, more abstract applications such as supreme excellence or the act of intuiting knowledge as if by supernatural means.

Analysis

the word 'divine' is a simplex loanword from latin. it cannot be meaningfully segmented into smaller, independent morphemes using its modern english spelling.

Examples

they sought divine guidance before making their decision.

the chocolate cake tasted absolutely divine.

she was able to divine his true intentions from his subtle body language.

divine – Meaning, Etymology & Word Origin | OpenEtymology