See Also: dive(1)(dictionary)
dive(2)(dictionary)
dive-dap(dictionary)
Inward Dive - Diving(gambling)
dive-dapper(dictionary)
dive 1, verb(dictionary)
Dive - Bowling(gambling)
dive 2, noun(dictionary)
dive-bomb(dictionary)
Armstand Dive - Diving(gambling)

dive(2) (iou)



dive verb. .
[Old English strong intrans. verb dufan (pa. t. deaf, pl. dufon), obsolete before 14, & weak trans. verb dfan, dfde, both from Germanic, cogn. with DEEP adjective, DIP verb (Pa. t. dove app. after drive, drove, etc.)]
I. verb intrans.
Descend or plunge, esp. head first, into or through water etc.; execute a dive. OE.
P. H. Johnson He climbed onto a groin, stretched his arms and dived cleanly into the sparkling sea.
b. Of a submarine: descend so as to be entirely under water. L19.
c. Of an aircraft: plunge steeply downwards at increasing or high speed. E20.
d. In boxing, football, etc.: feign a fall to deceive an opponent or referee. M20.
Of a thing: sink deeply into water etc.; penetrate into a body. Long rare. ME.
Shakespeare King John To dive like buckets in concealed wells. J. Dickey I..saw him kill a quail.., the arrow diving into the black feathers. transf.: Pope The fierce soul to darkness dived and hell.
Penetrate or search mentally into a matter. L16.
Put one's hand into water, a receptacle, etc., esp. in order to take something out; arch. slang pick pockets. L17.
Go suddenly or eagerly, esp. into or towards a place or thing. Foll. by preposition M18.
Quiller-Couch A straight pathway dived between hazel-bushes and appeared again twenty feet above. G. B. Shaw A man of sense would have dived into the nearest cellar.
II. verb trans.
Dip, submerge, or plunge (a person or thing) in or into water etc. arch. OE.
Thrust (the hand or something held) into. L16.
E. Waugh Corker began..to dive his hand into his bosom and scratch his chest.
Penetrate or traverse by diving; dive into or through. Now rare. E17.
R. W. Emerson He dives the hollow, climbs the steep.
Comb.: dive-bomb verb trans. (of an aircraft) attack by releasing a bomb while diving towards the target; slang (of a bird) swoop down on and away again; release droppings over; dive-bomber an aircraft designed for dive-bombing.
? As verb trans., obsolete after 13, a new construction in 16.