LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“divide” in Latin

The English word divide itself goes back to Latin dīvidō.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

divide
To part an entire thing, dividere (to separate, so that the parts are distinct and can be discerned each by itself; also of things that divide an object, or separate two things; e.g., to divide the river in two arms [speaking of a piece of land], flumen in duas partes ☞ To SEPARATE): partiri (partire not Ciceronian, except in partitus [passive], to divide a whole into smaller parts, so that these parts may bear a proper proportion to each other, e.g., a body, corpus; aliquid in membra: to divide the genus into different species, genus in species; then also = to divide (anything) with anybody; Vid: below). (The words are found in this connection and order.) partiri ac dividere (e.g., the whole genus into species, genus universum in species): dispertire or dispertiri (to separate into parts): distribuere (to divide a whole in such a manner, that every one receives a proportionate quantity; to divide in a proper manner): describere (to point out by writing, how a whole is, or is to be divided, and to whom the parts belong, or are to belong; e.g., annum in duodecim menses; terram in regiones): dispensare (to weigh out, as it were; hence, to divide proportionately, pecuniam, numos, fontem inter incolas): sejungere, disjungere (to part what was united). To divide into parts, in partes dividere; into two, three, four parts, aliquid in duas, tres, quatuor partes dividere; aliquid bifariam or bipartito, trifariam or tripartito, quadrifariam or quadripartito dividere, distribuere, dispertire: to divide into equal parts, aequabiliter dispertire (e.g., the booty, praedam): to divide anything into two equal parts, aequa portione dividere aliquid: to divide anything into twelve equal parts, aliquid in duodecim partes aequabiliter dividere: to divide anything in equal portions among several persons, aliquid aequa portione dispensare (litterally, to weigh it out to them, with dative of the person): to divide anything “ad infinitum,” dispertiri aliquid in infinita: to divide (anything) with anybody, partiri cum aliquo (to share, or go shares with anybody; also without accusative, as in English “to go shares” not mentioning the object); dividere aliquid cum aliquo (e.g., one’s bread, etc., cum esuriente panem suum). To divide among themselves (of several), partiri inter se: to divide anything among themselves, aliquid inter se dividere, or partiri or dispertiri: to divide anything among several persons, partiri or dispertiri aliquid inter, etc. [Vid: the following section of this article = To DISTRIBUTE]: to divide one’s time between labor and recreation, tempora laboris voluptatisque dispertire: the whole day is divided between sleeping and reading, totus dies inter stratum et lectionem divisus est: to divide Asia into provinces, civitates Asiae in provincias describere: to divide a question, a bill, etc., into two (that the votes may be taken separately), sententiam dividere: the opinions are divided, sententiae in diversum tenduntur; sententiae variantur: to divide into four classes, dispertire aliquid in quatuor genera; a speech into its heads, orationem in sua membra; the people into five classes, populum in quinque classes distribuere: to divide one’s time according to one’s occupations, negotia cum tempore commetiri: to divide into “decuriae,” or companies of ten, decuriare; into “centuriae” or bodies of a hundred each, centuriare.
To divide itself, themselves; or to be divided, dividi (to be divided, general term): dissidere: discrepare: distrahi (to be divided in opinion). Historians are divided in their opinions as to whether... or, utrum... an, etc., auctores in diversum trahunt (Liv.); persons are divided in their sentiments, expectations, etc., alius in aliam partem mente atque animo trahitur (Caes.): to divide itself into two arms, in duas partes dividi (of a river); also in duo ora discurrere (to discharge itself by two mouths or streams): se findere († via in ambas partes se findit, Verg.): to be divided into two classes or parties, in duas partes discedere: to divide themselves, discedere (= in duas partes, in manipulos, etc. of persons; also IMPROP., of things, haec quatuor velut proposita... in duo genera discedunt, Quint.): the opinions in the Senate were divided, duae sententiae senatum distinebant.
To separate, to keep apart, dividere (e.g., seniores a junioribus, Liv.): dirimere: separare: secernere: discernere: discludere: secludere: sejungere: disjungere: segregare: distinguere. [SYN. in SEPARATE.] (☞ Dispescere is unclassical for dividere, discludere). The river Garonne divides the territory of the Gauls from that of the Aquitani, Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen dividit: Spain is divided from Africa by a strait, Hispania ab Africa angusto diremta freto: the Alps, that divide Italy from Gaul, Alpes, quae Italiam a Gallia sejungunt: the river which divides the realms of Jugurtha and of Bocchus, flumen, quod Jugurthae Bocchique regnum disjungit: divided into two, three, etc., bipartitus, tripartitus, quadripartitus, quinquepartitus.
To divide amongst, dividere (e.g., agros, bona viritim, etc., Vid: DISTRIBUTE): to divide the property or estates among the soldiers, the plaintiffs, etc., bona militibus, bona inter accusatores dividere: to divide the recruits among the legions, tirones inter legiones dispertire: to divide land among the people, jugera in homines describere: to divide equally, fairly, aequabiliter partiri or dispertiri (e.g., the booty, praedam; money, pecuniam, numos).
To disunite by discord, discordes reddere: dissociare: dissociare, distrahere, aliquem ab aliquo. [Vid: DISUNITE.] Divided, distractus (e.g., distracti perfidia hominum amici): discordans (e.g., patria, Tac., Ann., 1, 9, 2): a slate divided by factions, civitas aliorum alias partes foventium factionibus discors (Liv., 33, 48, extr.).
In arithmetic, dividere: to divide by a 100, aliquid in centum partes diducere († Hor.).
divide
INTR., discedere: decedere: abire (to go away): discedere inter se (to go away in different directions, to go different ways): dividi.
To vote by dividing (of the Senate), discedere (the form was, qui hoc censetis, illuc transite; qui alia omnia in hanc partem, Plin., Ep., 8, 14). To order the Senate to divide, patres in sententiam discedere or ire jubere: to divide with anybody, discedere in alicujus sententiam (general term, Liv.); ire in alicujus sententiam (Cic., Fam., 1, 2): to divide against anybody or any question, discedere in alia omnia: a great majority divides against a question, de re aliqua frequentes (sc. patres) eunt in alia omnia (Cic., Fam., 1, 2): a great majority divides with Hortensius, in Hortensii sententiam multis partibus plures eunt (Cic., Fam., 1, 2): to insist on the house dividing (on a question), discessionem facere (ib.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for divide?
The usual Latin words for “divide” are dīvidō, partiō, dispertiō; also distribuō, dēscrībō, dispēnsō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.