Dove

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dÊŒv/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒv

From Middle English dove, douve, duve, from Old English *dūfe ("dove, pigeon"), from Proto-Germanic *dūbǭ ("dove"), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeubʰ- ("to whisk, smoke, be obscure"). Cognate with Scots doo, dow ("dove"), West Frisian do ("dove"), Dutch duif ("dove, pigeon"), Low German (Low Saxon) Duuv ("dove, pigeon"), German Taube ("dove, pigeon"), Danish due ("dove"), Swedish duva ("dove"), Icelandic dúfa ("dove"), Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌱𐍉.

Full definition of dove

Noun

1. A pigeon, especially one smaller in size; a bird (often arbitrarily called either a pigeon or a dove or both) of more than 300 species of the family Columbidae.
2. (politics) A person favouring conciliation and negotiation rather than conflict (as opposed to hawk).
3. Term of endearment for one regarded as pure and gentle.
• Cant. ii. 14O my dove, ... let me hear thy voice.

Synonyms

• columbid
• columbiform
• culver
• pigeon

Derived terms

Pronunciation

• RP enPR: dōv, IPA: /dəʊv/
• US enPR: dōv, IPA: /doÊŠv/
• Rhymes: -əʊv

A modern dialectal formation of the strong declension, by analogy with drive → drove and weave → wove.

Alternative forms

• dived

Verb

1. (chiefly North America and English dialect) Strong-declension

   dove

   (simple past of dive)
• 2007: Bob Harris, Who Hates Whom: Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts, and Various Things Blowing up: A Woefully Incomplete Guide, §: Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire, page 80, ¶ 4 (first edition; Three Rivers Press; ISBN 9780307394361)When coffee and cocoa prices unexpectedly dove, Côte d’Ivoire quickly went from Africa’s rich kid to crippling debtitude.
2. (non-standard) Past participle of dive

Usage notes

See dive for dived vs. dove.