diva

See also: díva, divã, Diva, and дива

English

Etymology

From Italian diva (“diva, goddess”), from Latin dīva (“goddess”), female of dīvus (“divine, divine one; notably a deified mortal”), from Old Latin deivā, from Proto-Italic *deiwā (“goddess”), feminine of *deiwos (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.və/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːvə
• Hyphenation: di‧va

Noun

diva (plural divas or dive)

1. Any female celebrity, usually a well known singer or actress. [from the 19th c.]
2. (slang, derogatory, informal) A person with an inflated sense of self, who has high expectations of others, and who is extremely demanding and fussy when it comes to personal privileges.

   Synonym: prima donna

Derived terms

• divadom
• divaesque
• diva house
• diva-ish
• divaism
• divalike
• divo

Translations

female celebrity

• Catalan: diva (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 迪娃 (díwá), 迪瓦 (díwǎ), 女名 (nǚmíng), 歌后 (gēhòu) (singing queen)

• Dutch: diva (nl) f
• Finnish: diiva (fi)
• French: diva (fr) f
• German: Diva (de) f
• Hungarian: díva (hu)
• Italian: diva (it) f
• Japanese: ディーバ (dība), ディーヴァ (dīva), 歌姫 (ja) (うたひめ, utahime) (singing queen)
• Korean: 디바 (diba)
• Persian: خواننده زن (xânande-ye zan)
• Polish: diwa f
• Portuguese: diva (pt) f
• Russian: ди́ва (ru) f (díva)
• Spanish: diva (es) f
• Swedish: diva (sv) c
• Turkish: diva (tr)
• Ukrainian: ди́ва f (dýva)

person who considers herself much more important than others

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: diva (nl) f, prima-donna (nl)
• Finnish: diiva (fi)
• French: diva (fr) f
• German: Diva (de) f
• Hungarian: díva (hu)
• Portuguese: diva (pt) f
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: diva (es) f
• Swedish: diva (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} diva (fr) f
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} diva (it) f

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “diva”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• AIVD, Adiv, Vida, avid

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin dīva (“goddess”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈdi.βə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈdi.və]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈdi.va]

Noun

diva f (plural dives, masculine divo)

1. (obsolete) goddess

   Synonym: deessa

2. diva

Further reading

• “diva” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian diva (“goddess”), from Latin diva, feminine form of divus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.vaː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: di‧va

Noun

diva f (plural diva's, diminutive divaatje n)

1. a diva

French

Etymology

From Italian, from Latin, the feminine form of dīvus (“divine one; deified mortal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.va/

Noun

diva f (plural divas)

1. a diva

Further reading

• “diva”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• vida

Italian

Etymology

From Latin, the feminine form of divus (“divine one; notably deified mortal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.va/
• Rhymes: -iva
• Hyphenation: dì‧va

Noun

diva f (plural dive)

1. (acting) a star (female, especially a singer or actress)

   Synonym: (informal) dea

2. (poetic) a goddess

   Synonym: dea

Related terms

• divo (masculine)

Descendants

• → Catalan: diva
• → Chinese: 迪娃 (díwá), 迪瓦 (díwǎ)
• → Dutch: diva
• → English: diva
• → Finnish: diiva
• → French: diva
• → German: Diva
• → Hungarian: díva
• → Japanese: ディーバ (dība), ディーヴァ (dīva)
• → Polish: diwa
• → Portuguese: diva
• → Russian: ди́ва (díva)
• → Spanish: diva
• → Swedish: diva
• → Turkish: diva

Anagrams

• davi

Latin

Pronunciation

• dīva: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.u̯a/, [ˈd̪iːu̯ä]
• dīva: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.va/, [ˈd̪iːvä]
• dīvā: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.u̯aː/, [ˈd̪iːu̯äː]
• dīvā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.va/, [ˈd̪iːvä]

Etymology 1

From Old Latin deivā, from Proto-Italic *deiwā (“goddess”), feminine of *deiwos (“god”), from Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god”) (whence dīvus and deus). See also dea.

Noun

dīva f (genitive dīvae, masculine dīvus); first declension

1. goddess, deity

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	dīva	dīvae
genitive	dīvae	dīvārum
dative	dīvae	dīvīs
accusative	dīvam	dīvās
ablative	dīvā	dīvīs
vocative	dīva	dīvae

Descendants

• Catalan: diva
• Italian: diva (see there for further descendants)
• Spanish: diva

Etymology 2

Noun

diva

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of dīvum (“sky, open air”)

Etymology 3

Adjective

dīva

1. inflection of dīvus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Adjective

dīvā

1. ablative feminine singular of dīvus

References

• “diva”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “diva”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “diva”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Italian diva.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdiːʋɑ/

Noun

diva f (definite singular divaa, indefinite plural divaer, definite plural divaene)

1. a diva

Inflection

Historical inflection of diva

		singular		plural
		indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
1982		diva f	diva, divaa [divai]	divaer	divaene
2012 (current)		diva f	divaa	divaer	divaene

• Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard.
• Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier.

References

• “diva” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒi.vɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒi.vɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒi.va/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.vɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.vɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.bɐ/ [ˈdi.βɐ]

• Rhymes: -ivɐ
• Hyphenation: di‧va

Adjective

diva

1. feminine singular of divo

Noun

diva f (plural divas, masculine divo, masculine plural divos)

1. diva (female deity, goddess)
2. role model (someone to be looked up to)

Related terms

• deus

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

diva

1. inflection of divar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “diva”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “diva”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), Porto: 7Graus, 2009–2025
• “diva”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “diva”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “diva”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “diva”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish ديبا (diba), from Persian دیبا (dêbâ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dǐːʋa/
• Hyphenation: di‧va

Noun

díva f (Cyrillic spelling ди́ва)

1. Alternative form of díba (“gold-damascened silk brocade”)

References

• Đuro Daničić, Matija Valjavac, Pero Budmani, editor (1884–1886), “díva”, in Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika‎^[1] (in Serbo-Croatian), volume 2, Zagreb: JAZU, page 418

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian diva.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdiva]

Noun

diva f

1. diva (female celebrity)

Declension

Declension of diva (pattern žena)

	singular	plural
nominative	diva	divy
genitive	divy	dív
dative	dive	divám
accusative	divu	divy
locative	dive	divách
instrumental	divou	divami

Further reading

• “diva”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdiba/ [ˈd̪i.β̞a]
• Rhymes: -iba
• Syllabification: di‧va

Noun

diva f (plural divas, masculine divo, masculine plural divos)

1. diva

Adjective

diva

1. feminine singular of divo

Further reading

• “divo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Noun

diva c

1. a diva, a prima donna (famous person with annoying manners)

   Vilken jäkla diva

   What a bloody diva

Declension

Declension of diva

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	diva	divas
	definite	divan	divans
plural	indefinite	divor	divors
	definite	divorna	divornas

References

• diva in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• diva in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• diva in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian diva (“diva, goddess”), from Latin dīva (“goddess”), female of dīvus (“divine, divine one; notably a deified mortal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.va/
• Hyphenation: di‧va

Noun

diva (definite accusative divayı, plural divalar)

1. diva (female celebrity)

Further reading

• “diva”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “diva”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “diva”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 1203