I. də̇ˈvīn sometimes dēˈ- adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English devin, divin, from Middle French, from Latin divinus, from divus divine, god + -inus -ine — more at deity
1.
a. : of or relating to God : proceeding from God
the divine will
divine judgment
b. : of or relating to a god : having the nature of a god
the custom of killing the divine king upon any serious failure of his … powers — J.G.Frazer
: proceeding from a god
the divine strength of Achilles
: like a god or like that of a god
divine capacity for love
2.
a. : devoted or addressed to God : religious , holy , sacred
summoned the people to divine worship
b. obsolete : relating to divinity or theology : concerned with sacred things
3.
a. : supremely good or admirable
admired the writings of the divine Shakespeare
her pies were simply divine
b. : having a sublime or inspired character
in her role as the mother, woman is regarded as divine — R.N.Dandekar
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English divine, devine, from Medieval Latin divinus, from Latin, soothsayer, from divinus, adjective
1. : a minister of the gospel : priest , clergyman
a Puritan divine
2. : one skilled in divinity : theologian
great Protestant divines such as Luther, Calvin, Melanchthon, and Zwingli
3. : a priest, theologian, or spiritual guide of a non-Christian religion
4. often capitalized : something having the qualities and attributes of an ultimate reality that is regarded as sacred
man's relation to the divine
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English devinen, divinen, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French deviner, diviner, from Latin divinare, from divinus soothsayer
transitive verb
1.
a. : to discover or make known by divination
she divined the fall of the city
b. : to discover or locate (as water) by means of a divining rod
2.
a. : to perceive, make out, or discover intuitively or through keenness of insight
divined her unhappiness before she had uttered a word
no other critic has so well divined the poet's essential meaning
b. archaic : to be or give a sign or indication of (future events or something unknown) : portend
all things wait for and divine him — R.W.Emerson
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to prophesy with supernatural aid
a Cassandra, divining of evils to come
b. : to use or practice divination
divined in tent-shaking rites to discover the … cause of illness or death — American Anthropologist
2.
a. : conjecture , suppose , infer
I either know them or divine by the root — O.W.Holmes †1935
b. : to perceive, recognize, or acquire understanding concerning some fact or circumstance especially by insight or intuition
all the time only too well divining — John Galsworthy
Synonyms: see foresee