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There's something inventive about devise, a word that stems from Latin dividere, meaning "to divide." By the time devise began being used in early Middle English, its Anglo-French forebear deviser had accumulated an array of senses, including "divide," "distribute," "arrange," "array," "digest," "order," "plan," "invent," "contrive," and "assign by will." English adopted most of these and added some new senses over the course of time, such as "imagine," "guess," "pretend," and "describe." In modern use, we've disposed of a lot of the old meanings, but we have kept the one that applies to wills; devise has traditionally referred to the transfer of real property (land), and bequeath to personal property. These days, this devise is most often recognized as applying generally to all the property in a person's estate.
Synonyms
Examples of devise in a Sentence
Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Apparently in response, the U.S. Chess Federation convened a committee to correct these deficiencies, and in 1960 adopted a system devised by a Hungarian American chess master and physics professor named Arpad Elo.
—Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2024
The gamification can also encourage users to devise their own tactics to game the system and keep earning—and re-earning—badges.
—Bysharon Goldman, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
That's when the idea for Splash Place Swim Goggles was devised.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2024
Tesla will now provide shareholders more information about how the plan was devised and ask them to approve it again.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
At the same time, city officials are devising plans to move around 1,000 homeless people from local waterways and into shelters.
—Ethan Varian, The Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2024
During the Great Depression, an out-of-work American architect named Alfred Mosher Butts devised a new game that required players to spell out different words using nine random letters.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
If an influencer devises a recipe as part of a checkoff campaign, there’s the question of who owns that recipe.
—Tim Forster, Bon Appétit, 16 Apr. 2024
Dana Oland, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Because these sophisticated devises require more training and retraining over time, their existence will also offer different tech opportunities in answering training needs.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2023
The second way is for that child to acknowledge, in writing, that the $50,000 lifetime gift was in satisfaction of the devise in your will.
—Dallas News, 27 Feb. 2022
These are assets that can be given now or left as a specific devise in a will or trust.
—Dallas News, 4 Dec. 2022
Historically, personality tests have been used as a tool to help some businesses make hiring decisions and devise activities.
—Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 24 July 2020
In a statement Friday, the IS-K said the explosive devise that devastated Mazar-e-Sharif's Sai Doken mosque was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers.
—Kathy Gannon and Mohammad Shaob Amin, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2022
When the pandemic required the district to implement remote learning in March of last year, the district was forced to assure all students were issued an electronic devise.
—Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, 22 Dec. 2021
This is often a preferable arrangement if the couple's intent is for the surviving partner to have complete ownership of the home since this transfer is automatic by operation of law and not dependent upon a devise under a will.
—Matthew Erskine, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near devise
Cite this Entry
“Devise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devise. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
devise
2 of 2 nounNote: Formerly devise was used to refer only to gifts of real property, and legacy and bequest were used only to refer to gifts of personal property. These distinctions are no longer closely followed. The Uniform Probate Code uses devise to refer to any gifts made in a will.
Note: Executory devises were invented as a way of getting around the rule in Shelley's case, which is now largely abolished.
Transitive verb
Anglo-French deviser to divide, share, bequeath, ultimately from Latin dividere to divide
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