Diverge
/daɪˈvɜːrdʒ/noun
To move, develop, or become different in direction, course, or character.
Did you know?Its core Latin verb, vergere, described bending or inclining, so divergence was originally imagined not as abstract disagreement but as lines physically leaning away from one another.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*werǵʰ-
“To turn, bend, or incline; a reconstructed root associated with exerting force or changing direction.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vergēre
“To bend, turn, or incline toward a direction.”
Classical Latin
Latin
dīvergĕre
“To turn in different directions; to separate or branch apart.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
divergere
“To differ or move away from a common line or course.”
14th Century
Middle English
divergen
“To differ or depart from a course.”
Modern English
English
diverge
“To branch away, differ, or develop along separate lines.”