Word of the Day

: December 13, 2013

divulge

verb dih-VULJ

What It Means

: to make (something, such as a confidence or a secret) known

divulge in Context

Patty would not divulge where she had hidden her Christmas presents.

"Gov. Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway are warning consumers to beware of scam artists who might try to dupe them into divulging personal information on websites that mimic those where people can sign up for insurance policies."- From an Associated Press article in the Charlotte Observer, October 29, 2013

Did You Know?

It isn't vulgar to make known the roots of "divulge." The preceding sentence contains two hints about the origins of today's word. "Divulge" was borrowed into Middle English in the 15th century from Latin "divulgare," a word that combines the prefix "dis-," meaning "apart" or "in different directions," with "vulgare," meaning "to make known." "Vulgare," in turn, derives from the Latin noun "vulgus," meaning "mob" or "common people." As you have no doubt guessed, English "vulgar" is another word that can be traced back to "vulgus"; it came into use about a century before "divulge."