dove

1 of 2

noun

ˈdəv 

1

: any of numerous pigeons

especially : a small wild pigeon

2

: a gentle woman or child

3

: one who takes a conciliatory attitude and advocates negotiations and compromise

especially : an opponent of war compare hawk entry 1

dovish

ˈdə-vish 

adjective

dovishness noun

dove

2 of 2

ˈdōv 

past tense of dive

Synonyms

Noun

• pacifist

Examples of dove in a Sentence

Noun

The President sided with the doves and worked to avoid war.

the doves were in favor of using the surplus to improve the nation's schools and not its weapons systems

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The parade ended with the release of 80,000 doves and an equal number of balloons in a visual spectacle symbolizing peace. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025

And even though Powell has opened the door to a rate cut next month, other policymakers remain more hawkish, while further weakness in the labor market could make some doves even more dovish. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2025

My dress had a pristine white top with an attached skirt in dove grey, splotched with tropical-style petal pink flowers. —Amanda Uhle august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025

Sparrows, mourning doves, pigeons, towhees, and juncos will all fly over to enjoy an easy meal. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English duve, douve, dowe, probably going back to Old English *dūfe and a shortened form *dufe, going back to Germanic *dūƀōn- (whence also Old Frisian dūwe "dove," Old Saxon dūƀa, Middle Dutch duve, Old High German tūba, Old Icelandic dúfa, Gothic -dubo, in hraiwadubo "turtledove"), of uncertain origin

Note: The modern English outcome with [ʌ] presupposes shortening of (or variation with) a Middle English form with ọ̄, itself presupposing Old English ŭ affected by Middle English open-syllable lengthening. Middle English spellings such as douve, however, would seem to require an Old English long vowel, as do the Germanic cognates. These issues were pointed out by E. J. Dobson (English Pronunciation, 1500-1700, 2. edition, Oxford, 1968, p. 514), who follows the Oxford English Dictionary's suggestion that the noun is related to Old English dūfan "to dive, plunge (into a liquid)" (see dive entry 1) and that the forms with long and short u reflect different ablaut grades of dūfan (a class II strong verb). Essentially the same solution, without the discussion of the English details, is proposed by G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Brill, 2013). The difficulty with this hypothesis is that the noun in Germanic languages uniformly means "dove, pigeon," not an aquatic bird. Another proposal associates *dūƀōn- with the Celtic etymon of Old Irish dub "dark, black," Old Welsh dub, Welsh du, on the assumption that a dove is "the dark bird." But such a source, usually derived, together with Germanic *dauƀa- "deaf, senseless" (see deaf) and Greek typhlós "blind, dark," from Indo-European *d^hub^h-, *d^heu̯b^h-, could not regularly produce a long u. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the etymological successor to the Oxford English Dictionary, abandons the dive connection and says simply "presumed to be imitative of the bird's note."

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dove

• dove for cover
• mourning dove
• ringed turtle dove
• rock dove

Rhymes for dove

• glove
• love
• of
• shove
• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• hereinabove

Kids Definition

dove

1 of 2 noun

ˈdəv 

1

: any of numerous pigeons

especially : a small wild pigeon

2

: a person who opposes war or warlike policies

dovish

-ish 

adjective

dove

2 of 2

ˈdōv 

past and past participle of dive