divarication
noun
di·var·i·ca·tion (ˌ)dī-ˌver-ə-ˈkā-shən 
də-,
-ˌva-rə-
1
: the action, process, or fact of divaricating
2
: a divergence of opinion
Did you know?
There's no reason to prevaricate about the origins of divarication-the word derives from the Medieval Latin divaricatio, which in turn descends from the verb divaricare, meaning "to spread apart." Divaricare itself is derived from the Latin varicare, which means "to straddle" and is also an ancestor of prevaricate ("to deviate from the truth"). The oldest sense of divarication, which first appeared in print in English in 1578, refers to a literal branching apart (as in "divarication of the roads"). The word eventually developed a more metaphorical second sense that is used when opinions "stretch apart" from one another.
Synonyms
- bifurcation
- divergence
- divergency
- separation
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the divarication of the various dialects of Latin that occurred with the decline of the Roman Empire
Word History
First Known Use
1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1
divarication
noun
as in divergence
a movement in different directions away from a common point the divarication of the various dialects of Latin that occurred with the decline of the Roman Empire Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- divergence
- divergency
- diversity
- difference
- separation
- bifurcation
- disparateness
- parting of the ways
- disagreement
- disparity
- discrepancy
- distinctiveness
- distinctness
- dissimilarity
- unlikeness
- dissidence
- distinction
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- convergence
- agreement
- similarity
- accord
- likeness