Meaning and Origin
What does the name Dove mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from New Jersey, U.S., the name Dove is of English origin and means "Bird".
- A submission from Texas, U.S. says the name Dove means "Peace".
- A submission from the United Kingdom says the name Dove means "Kind" and is of American origin.
- [Zoöl] A pigeon of the genus Columba and various related genera. The species are numerous.
- A word of endearment for one regarded as pure and gentle."O my dove, . . . let me hear thy voice." [Cant. ii. 14.]
- a person advocating peace, compromise or conciliation rather than war or conflict. Opposite of hawk.
Note: ☞ The domestic dove, including the varieties called fantails tumblers carrier pigeons, etc., was derived from the rock pigeon Columba livia) of Europe and Asia; the turtledove of Europe, celebrated for its sweet, plaintive note, is Columba turtur or Turtur vulgaris; the ringdove, the largest of European species, is Columba palumbus; the Carolina dove, or Mourning dove, is Zenaidura macroura; the sea dove is the little auk (Mergulus alle or Alle alle). See Turtledove Ground dove, and Rock pigeon. The dove is a symbol of peace, innocence, gentleness, and affection; also, in art and in the Scriptures, the typical symbol of the Holy Ghost.
Etymology: OE. dove duve douve, AS. dūfe; akin to OS. dūba, D. duif, OHG. tūba, G. taube, Icel. dūfa, Sw. dufva, Dan. due, Goth. dūbō; perh. from the root of E. dive
- Any of numerous small pigeons
- An emblem of peace
- Flesh of a pigeon suitable for roasting or braising; flesh of a dove (young squab) may be broiled
- A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Puppis and Caelum
- Someone who prefers negotiations to armed conflict in the conduct of foreign relations
From Middle English dove, douve, duve, from Old English *dūfe (“dove, pigeon”), from Proto-Germanic *dūbǭ (“dove”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, be obscure”). Cognate with Scots doo, dow (“dove”), Saterland Frisian Duuwe (“dove”), West Frisian do (“dove”), Dutch duif (“dove, pigeon”), Low German (Low Saxon) Duuv (“dove, pigeon”), German Taube (“dove, pigeon”), Danish due (“dove”), Swedish duva (“dove”), Icelandic dúfa (“dove”), Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌱𐍉 (dubo).
- A pigeon, especially one smaller in size; a bird (often arbitrarily called either a pigeon or a dove or both) of more than 300 species of the family Columbidae.
- (politics) A person favouring conciliation and negotiation rather than conflict (as opposed to hawk).
- Term of endearment for one regarded as pure and gentle.
A modern dialectal formation of the strong conjugation, by analogy with drive → drove and weave → wove.
dove was also found in the following language(s): Dutch, Friulian, Italian, and Norwegian Nynorsk