'divide' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'dividere', where the prefix 'di-' (a variant of 'dis-') indicated 'apart' and the root related to separating.

'divide' changed from Old French 'divider' (or Medieval Latin 'dividere') into Middle English forms such as 'dividen' and eventually became the modern English word 'divide'.

Initially, it meant 'to force or cause to be apart / to separate'; over time it has come to mean 'to separate into parts' or 'to distribute' in modern usage.