dividere

Dividere is an Italian verb meaning to divide, split, or separate. It can describe the action of dividing physical objects, classifying items, or distributing something among people. It is also used in mathematics to denote the division operation. The verb is transitive and typically appears with a direct object, for example: dividere qualcosa in parti.

Etymology: The word comes from Latin dividere, formed from the prefix di- meaning apart and a root related to dividing. Related nouns and adjectives include divisione (division), divisibile (divisible), and divisore (divisor).

Conjugation: Present indicative is io divido, tu dividi, lui divide, noi dividiamo, voi dividete, loro dividono. Imperfect is dividevo, dividevi, divideva, dividevamo, dividevate, dividevano. Future is dividerò, dividerai, dividerà, divideremo, dividerete, divideranno. The present participle is dividendo; the past participle is diviso. The reflexive form dividersi exists and can express sharing time or resources among tasks: mi divido tra lavoro e studio.

Usage: Common for partitioning objects (dividere una torta in otto pezzi), allocating tasks (dividere i compiti tra i membri del team), or classifying items (dividere gli studenti in gruppi). The construction typically uses a structure like dividere X in Y parts. In reflexive use, dividersi conveys how a person distributes attention or time.

Mathematics: In math, divisione is the operation of division, and the quotient is quoziente. In spoken Italian, you can say due diviso quattro fa quattro; in writing, the past participle diviso is used in compound tenses (ho diviso).

See also: divisione, divisibile, divisore, spartire.