dove
The dove dove into the bushes when the hawk appeared.
The sentence depicts a small bird suddenly plunging into bushes when a hawk appeared.
Meanings
a small white or gray bird of the pigeon family, often a symbol of peace
- A white dove was released at the wedding.
- Mourning doves cooed from the maple tree.
the past tense of 'dive' (chiefly American English) — leapt or plunged headfirst
- She dove into the swimming pool.
- Stocks dove after the bad earnings report.
Word origin
Two etymologically distinct words: 'dove' the bird /dʌv/ comes from Old English dūfe, from Proto-Germanic *dūbǭ, possibly from a root meaning 'to dive' (referring to the bird's dipping flight). 'Dove' the past-tense verb /doʊv/ is the past tense of 'dive', formed by analogy with strong verbs like 'drove' and 'wove' — though 'dived' is also accepted, 'dove' has dominated American English since the 1800s. The two share the same spelling by linguistic coincidence.
Fun fact
British English prefers 'dived' as the past tense of 'dive'; American English overwhelmingly prefers 'dove' /doʊv/. The American form arose by analogy with 'drove', 'wove', 'rode' — verbs that change their vowel for the past tense. So Americans treat 'dive' as a strong (irregular) verb; Britons treat it as weak (regular). 'Dove' the bird is an unrelated word that happens to share the spelling.