dove

1 of 2

noun

ˈdəv How to pronounce dove (audio)
Synonyms of dovenext
1
: any of numerous pigeons
especially : a small wild pigeon
2
: a gentle woman or child
3
: one who takes a conciliatory attitude and advocates negotiations and compromise
especially : an opponent of war compare hawk entry 1
dovish
ˈdə-vish How to pronounce dove (audio)
adjective
dovishness noun

dove

2 of 2
ˈdōv How to pronounce dove (audio)

past tense of dive

Synonyms

Noun

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of dove in a Sentence

Noun The President sided with the doves and worked to avoid war. the doves were in favor of using the surplus to improve the nation's schools and not its weapons systems
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
At least 10 birds — including ducks, geese and a zebra dove — were reported dead on the property on Nov. 12 and were then sent for confirmatory testing. —Angelica Stabile, Fox News, 19 Nov. 2024 About 100,000 people gathered as airplanes circled overhead, doves were released and patriotic music ringed through the ears of attendees. —Graham Hurley, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024 For example, the 1920 Olympics were the first in which the Olympic Oath was voiced, the first in which doves were released to symbolize peace, and the first in which the Olympic Flag was flown to display the unity of the world's continents through its 5 rings. —Tim Genske, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024 During the development process, the two dove into the Belstaff archive, looking at vintage pieces and studying functional motoring details on legwear and neck label branding. —Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dove 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English duve, douve, dowe, probably going back to Old English *dūfe and a shortened form *dufe, going back to Germanic *dūƀōn- (whence also Old Frisian dūwe "dove," Old Saxon dūƀa, Middle Dutch duve, Old High German tūba, Old Icelandic dúfa, Gothic -dubo, in hraiwadubo "turtledove"), of uncertain origin

Note: The modern English outcome with [ʌ] presupposes shortening of (or variation with) a Middle English form with ọ̄, itself presupposing Old English ŭ affected by Middle English open-syllable lengthening. Middle English spellings such as douve, however, would seem to require an Old English long vowel, as do the Germanic cognates. These issues were pointed out by E. J. Dobson (English Pronunciation, 1500-1700, 2. edition, Oxford, 1968, p. 514), who follows the Oxford English Dictionary's suggestion that the noun is related to Old English dūfan "to dive, plunge (into a liquid)" (see dive entry 1) and that the forms with long and short u reflect different ablaut grades of dūfan (a class II strong verb). Essentially the same solution, without the discussion of the English details, is proposed by G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Brill, 2013). The difficulty with this hypothesis is that the noun in Germanic languages uniformly means "dove, pigeon," not an aquatic bird. Another proposal associates *dūƀōn- with the Celtic etymon of Old Irish dub "dark, black," Old Welsh dub, Welsh du, on the assumption that a dove is "the dark bird." But such a source, usually derived, together with Germanic *dauƀa- "deaf, senseless" (see deaf) and Greek typhlós "blind, dark," from Indo-European *dhubh-, *dheu̯bh-, could not regularly produce a long u. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the etymological successor to the Oxford English Dictionary, abandons the dive connection and says simply "presumed to be imitative of the bird's note."

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dove was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing dove

Dictionary Entries Near dove

DOVAP

dove

dove's-foot

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Dove.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dove. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

dove

1 of 2 noun
ˈdəv How to pronounce dove (audio)
1
: any of numerous pigeons
especially : a small wild pigeon
2
: a person who opposes war or warlike policies
dovish
-ish How to pronounce dove (audio)
adjective

dove

2 of 2
ˈdōv How to pronounce dove (audio)

past and past participle of dive

More from Merriam-Webster on dove

Nglish: Translation of dove for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of dove for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dove

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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