divertisement 
divertisement (di-ver'tiz-ment), . [= D. G. 
Dau. Sw. dirrrtixxemcnt, < V. divertissement (cf. 
Sp. divertimit'ttto = Pg. It. divertimento), diver- 
sion, < divertir, divert: see divertise.] 1. Diver- 
sion; amusement; recreation. 
My haste, pel-hups, la not so (treat but It might dispense 
with auch u divertisement as I promise myself In .vmr 
comimuy. Cotton, in Walton's Angler, II. 22tl. 
Ilnihinu, the poem which so mystified the readers of 
the Atlantic Monthly, was one of his [Emerson's] spiritual 
divert uementit. 0. W. Holmes, Emerson, p. 387. 
2. A short ballet or other entertainment given 
between acts or longer pieces, 
divertisingt, /). a. [Ppr. of divertise, v.] Amus- 
ing; entertaining. 
To hear the nightingales and other birds, and hear fld- 
dli-s, nud there a harp, and here a Jew's trump, and here 
laughing, and there tine people walking, is mighty diver- 
tixiii'i. Pepys, Diary, III. 188. 
divertivet (di-ver'tiv), a. [< divert + -we.] 
Tending to divert ; diverting. 
For If the subject's of a serious kind, 
Her thoughts are manly, and her sense refln'd ; 
But if divertive, her expressions fit, 
Good language, joln'd with inoffensive wit. 
Pom/ret, Strephon's Love for Delia. 
divest (di-vesf), v. t. [Also devest; < OF. de- 
vestir, also desvestir, F. diee'tir = Pr. devestir, des- 
vestir = It. divestire, svestire, < L. devestire, ML. 
also divestire, disvestire, undress, < de- (or di-, 
dis-) priv. + vestire, dress, clothe, < vestis, cloth- 
ing, garment. The form devest, q. v., is now 
used only as a technical term in law.] 1. To 
strip of clothes, arms, or equipage; hence, to 
strip of anything that surrounds or attends; 
despoil: opposed to invest: as, to divest one of 
his reputation. 
Neither of our lives are in such extremes ; for you liv- 
ing at court without ambition, which would burn you, or 
envy, which would devest others, live in the sun, not in 
the fire. Donne, Letters, Iv. 
Even these men cannot entirely divert themselves of 
humanity. Goldsmith, Vicar, xxv. 
The people, who forever keep the sole right of legisla- 
tion in their own representatives, but divest themselves 
wholly of any right to the administration. 
N. Webster, A Plan of Policy. 
2. To strip by some definite or legal process ; 
deprive : as, to divest a person of his rights or 
privileges ; to divest one of title or property. 
By what means can government, without being divested 
of the full command of the resources of the community, 
be prevented from abusing Its powers? 
Calhoun, Works, I. 10. 
3f. To strip off; throw off. 
In heaven we do not say that our bodies shall divest 
their mortality, so, as that naturally they could not die ; 
for they shall have a composition still ; and every com- 
pounded thing may perish. Donne, Sermons, xvii. 
divestible (di-ves'ti-bl), a. [< divest + -i&te.] 
Capable of being divested. 
Liberty being too high a blessing to be divettible of that 
nature by circumstances. Boyle, Works, I. 248. 
divestiture (di-ves'ti-tur), n. [= F. divestiture, 
< ML. divestitus, for L. devestitus, pp. of deves- 
tire, divest: see divest and -tire.] 1. The act 
of stripping, putting off, or depriving. 
He is sent away without remedy, with a divestiture 
from his pretended Orders. Bp. Hall, Works, X. 226. 
2. In law, the act of surrendering one's effects 
or any part thereof: opposed to investiture. 
divestment (di-vest'ment), . [< OF. deveste- 
ment, desvestement, F. OMWMMM^ < devestir, di- 
vest: see divest and -ment.] The act of divest- 
ing. Coleridge. [Bare.] 
divesturet (di-ves'tur), TO. [< OF. devesteure, 
desves1ttre,< (leeestir,ai\eet: see divest and-nre.J 
An obsolete form of divestiture. Boyle. 
dividable (di-vi'da-bl), a. [< divide + -able. 
Cf. divisible.] Divisible. [Rare.] 
That power by which the several parts of matter, such 
as stone, wood, or the like, firmly hold together, so as to 
make them hard and not easily dividable. 
Pearce, Works, I. ii. 
dividantt (di-vi'dant), o. [Irreg. < divide + 
-OMt 1 .] Divided ; 'separate. 
Twinn'd brothers of one womb 
Whose procreation, resilience, and birth 
Scarce is diridani. Shale., T. of A., iv. 3. 
divide (di-vid'), c. ; pret. and pp. divided, ppr. 
dividing. [Early mod. E. also devide; < ME. 
dividen, dyvyden, deviden = D. dimderen = G. 
dividiren = Dan. dividere = Sw. dindera = Pr. 
Sp. Pg. dividir = It. dividere (= F. diviser = Pr. 
devezir, divi:ir, divide, from the L. pp. divisus : 
see devise, n. and p.), < L. diwlere, pp. dirisus, 
divide, separate, distinguish, part, distribute, 
< di- for dis-, apart, + 'vidSre, of uncertain ori- 
gin, prob. akin to videre, see (= Gr. tfciv, "piSelv, 
see, = E. wit, know: see vision, and wit, v.), be- 
1705 
ing thus orig. 'see, or put ao as to see, apart.' 
Some assume for "videre a root *vid or *vi, sepa- 
rate ; cf . Skt. -/ rich, separate, vi, prep, and pre- 
fix, apart, asunder, away.] I. trans. 1. To sepa- 
rate into parts or pieces; sunder, as a whole 
into parts ; cleave : as, to divide an apple. 
Divide the living child in two. I K i. iii. _.,. 
To him which divided the Red sea into parts. 
Ps. cxxxvL 13. 
2. To separate ; disjoin ; dispart ; sever the 
union or connection of, as things joined in any 
way, or made up of separate parts: as, to di- 
vide soul and body ; to divide an army. 
In their death they were not divided. 2 Sam. L 23. 
Calamity, that severs worldly friendships, 
Could ne'er divide us. 
Fletcher, Double Marriage, Iv. 1. 
3. In math. : (a) To perform the operation of 
division on. In common arithmetic, to divide is to 
separate into a given number of equal parts: thus, if 
we divide 22 by 7, the quotient will be 3 and the remain- 
der l. See division, 2. (ft) To be a divisor of, with- 
out leaving a remainder: as, "7 divides 21." 
4. To cause to be separate ; part by any means 
of disjunction, real or imaginary; make or keep 
distinct: as, the equator divides the earth into 
two hemispheres. 
Let it [the firmament] divide the waters from the waters. 
Gen. i. 6. 
Behold his goodly feet, Where one great cleft 
Devideg two toes pointed with iron claws. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, II, 174. 
5. To make partition of; distribute; share: as, 
to divide profits among shareholders, between 
partners, or with workmen. 
Also next this place is an Aulter where the crucifyers 
of our Sauyoure Criste deuydyd his clothes by chaunce of 
dyce. Sir R. Quyljorde, Pylgrymage, p. 25. 
The moon is up, and yet it is not night ; 
Sunset divides the sky with her. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 27. 
Division of labour cannot be carried far when there are 
but few to divide the labour among them. 
//. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 9. 
6. To mark off into parts ; make divisions on ; 
graduate : as, to divide a sextant, a rule, etc. 
7. To disunite or cause to disagree in opinion 
or interest ; make discordant. 
There shall be five in one house divided, three against 
two. Luke xii. 52. 
The learned World is very much divided upon Milton 
as to this Point Addition, Spectator, No. 285. 
8. To embarrass by indecision ; cause to hesi- 
tate or fluctuate between different motives or 
opinions. 
This way and that dividing the swift mind. 
Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur. 
9. In music, to perform, as a melody, especially 
with variations or divisions. 
Most heavenly melody 
About the bed sweet musicke did divide. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. v. 17. 
10. In logic: (a) To separate (in thought or 
speech) into parts any of the kinds of whole 
recognized by logic : as ; to divide a conception 
into its elements (species into genus and dif- 
ference), an essential whole into matter and 
form, or an integral whole into its integrate 
parts. 
The Law of Moses is divided into three ports, for either 
it is men-all, judiciall, or ceremoniail. 
Sir T. Wilson, Rule of Reason (1551). 
He could distinguish and divide 
A hair 'twixt south and south-west side. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, I. i. 87. 
(b) Especially, to separate (a genus) into its 
species. Hence 11. To expound; explain. 
They urge very colourably the Apostle's own sentences, 
requiring that a minister should be able to divide rightly 
the word of God. Booker, Eccles. Polity, v. 81. 
Her influence was one thing, not to be divided or dis- 
cussed, only to be felt with gratitude and joy. 
R. L. Stevenson, Will o' the Mill. 
Edging-and-dividing bench. See bench. To divide 
the house, to take a vote by division. See division, 1 (c). 
= Syn. 2. To sever, sunder, bar apart, divorce. B. To 
allot, apportion, deal out, parcel out. 
II. intrans. 1. To become separated into 
parts ; come or go apart ; be disunited. 
Love cools, friendship falls of?, brothers divide. 
Shot., Lear, L 2. 
She seem'd to divide in a dream from a band of the blest. 
Tennyson, Maud, xxviii. 1. 
2. To vote by division. See division, 1 (c). 
The emperors sat, voted, and divided with their equals. 
Gibbon. 
When the liill has been read a third time, the Speaker 
puts the question as to whether it shall pass. The House 
then itiriiisit ; those in favour of the bill pass out into one 
lobby, and those against it into another. The two divi- 
sions are counted by the " tellers." 
A. Buckland, Nat. Institutions, p. 28. 
divider 
3. To come to an issue ; agree as to what are 
the precise points in dispute, or some of them. 
divide (di-vid'), n. [< divide, v.] 1. Inj>hi/s. 
geog., a water-shed ; the height of land which 
separates one drainage-basin or area of catch- 
ment from another; often, but not always, a 
ridge or conspicuous elevation. [In common 
use in the United States, but much less fre- 
quently heard in England.] 
That evening we started over the low "divide " to Sun 
Bay, where we were delayed for a few minutes In an 
attempt to kill a wolf which was seen near. 
A. W. Oreely, Arctic Service, p. 281. 
In looking east from the summit of the great " conti- 
nental divide " at this point, we saw in the distance a vast 
plain bounded by a chain of lofty mountains. 
llarper's Mag., LXXVI. 401. 
2. The act of dividing; a division or partition, 
as of winnings or gains of any kind : as. a fair 
divide. [Colloq., U. 8.] 
The . . . notion of an office is that it U a part of the 
spoils of a political fight, and ought to be given out u a 
part of the general divide after the battle is over. 
Sea York Times, April 24, 1880. 
divided (di-vi'ded),jB. a. [Pp. of divide, v.] 
Parted ; separated ; disunited ; distributed : as, 
a divided hoot ; a divided estate. Specifically (a) 
In bot., cut into distinct segments ; cleft to the base or to 
the midrib: applied to a leaf, calyx, etc. (ft) In entom., 
said of any part that Is normally simple or undivided, 
when by exception it is formed of two parts, (r) In mu- 
sic, used of two instruments or voices that are usually In 
unison, but are temporarily given independent parts : 
as, with flutes divided; with sopranos divided. Divided 
palpi, those palpi in which the last joint is split longitu- 
dinally into two parts. Divided proposition, in luiiic, 
a proposition in which a sign of modality intervenes be- 
tween the subject and the predicate. Divided pygidl- 
um, the last dorsal segment of the abdomen when It Is 
formed of two plates, as in the males of certain Rhyncho- 
phora. Divided sense, in logic, that sense of a sign of 
modality which it has In a divided proposition. 
dividedly (di-vi'ded-li), adv. Separately; by 
division. 
In this the middle term is taken dividedly or dlstrlbu- 
tively in one premise. Atrmter, Logic, p. 168. 
dividend (div'i-dend), . [= D. G. Dan. Sw. 
dividend = F. dividcnde = Sp. Pg. It. dividendo, 
< L. dividendus, to be divided, ger. of dividere, 
divide: see divide, t>.] 1. A sum to be divided 
into equal parts, or one to be distributed pro- 
portionately. Particularly (n) In math., a number 
or quantity which is to be divided by another called the 
divnor, the result being called the quotient, (b) A sum to 
be divided as profits among the shareholders of a stock 
company, or persons jointly interested in an enterprise. 
(c) A sum out of an insolvent estate to be divided among 
Its creditors. 
2. The share of one of the individuals among 
whom a sum is so divided; a share or portion. 
Concerning bishops, how they ought to behaue thein- 
selues toward their clerks, or of such oblations as the 
faithfull offer vpon the altar; what portions or diuidenti 
ought to be made thereof. Foxe, Martyrs, p. 105. 
Dividend Of (so much) per cent., a percentage on a capi- 
tal stock or any other aggregate sum, of the rate named, 
to be distributed proportionately among shareholders or 
others entitled to it. Dividend on (or off), a stock-ex- 
change phrase meaning that, on the day of closing the 
transfer-books of any stock for a dividend, the transac- 
tions in such stock for cash include (ordo not include) the 
dividend up to the time officially designated for closing the 
books. In stock-exchange reports usually written cum 
(or ex) dividendo, dividend, dip., or d. Dividend war- 
rant. an order or authority on which a shareholder or 
stockholder receives his dividend. Stock dividend, a 
division of profits, actual or anticipated, payable in re- 
served or additional stock Instead of cash. To declare 
a dividend, to announce readiness to pay a specified 
dividend. To make a dividend, to set apart a sum to 
be divided among the persons interested in the property 
from which the sum Is taken. To pass a dividend, to 
omit to make a regular or expected dividend. [U. 8.) 
dividentH, n. [< L. dividen(t-)s, ppr. of di- 
videre, divide.] One who divides; a divider. 
[Bare.] 
"Divide," says one, "and I will choose." If this be but 
once agreed upon, it is enough ; for the divident, dividing 
unequally, loses, in regard that the other takes the better 
half. Harrington, quoted in J. Adams's Works, IV. 411. 
divident-t, n. An erroneous form of dividend. 
divider (di-vi'der), n. 1 . One who or that which 
divides ; that which separates into parts. 
According as the body moved, the divider did more and 
more enter the divided body. 
Sir K. Digby, Nature of Man's Soul. 
2. A distributer; one who deals out to each his 
share. 
Who made me a judge or divider over yon ? Luke xii. 14. 
3. One who or that which disunites or keeps 
apart. 
Money, the great divider of the world. 
Ocean, men's path and their divider too. 
Lowell, Bon Voyage ! 
4. pi. A pair of small compasses, of which the 
opening is adjusted by means of a screw and 
