Etymology

device

D2E1V4I1C3E1

Today it means: Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one. Full definition →

Middle English devis ← Old French devis ← Latin dīvīsus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  3. Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
  4. Proto-Italic*dis-
  5. Latindis-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  7. Proto-Indo-European*dwi-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₁weydʰh₁-
  10. Proto-Italic*wiðō
  11. Latin*vidō
  12. Latindīvidō
  13. Latindīvīsus
  14. Old Frenchdevis
  15. Middle Englishdevis
  16. English todaydevice

From Middle English devis, devise, devyce, devys, devyse, from Old French devis and devise, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō (“to divide”). Doublet of devise (noun).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.