# dove

Pronunciation: say "DUV" /dʌv/

## Noun

1. A bird of the family Columbidae, especially one of the smaller, often white-colored kinds; the names dove and pigeon are applied to the family's more than 300 species largely interchangeably.
   - Simple: A bird in the pigeon family, often smaller and white, with a soft, gentle call.
   - _A dove perched on the fence, preening its gray feathers._
   - _Mourning doves gather under the feeder at dusk every evening._
3. A person who favors conciliation and negotiation rather than conflict, especially in debates over war and foreign policy.
   - Simple: A person who wants peace and prefers talking over fighting.
   - _Doves in the cabinet urged the president to pursue a cease-fire._
   - _A lifelong dove, she opposed every military intervention of her career._
4. A grayish color tinged with blue and pink, resembling the plumage of the dove.
   - Simple: A soft gray color with hints of blue and pink, like a dove's feathers.
   - _The designer chose dove for the sofa, with cream accents throughout the room._
   - _She chose dove for the bedroom walls because it felt softer and warmer than plain gray._
5. An affectionate term of address for someone regarded as pure and gentle.
   - Simple: A loving name for someone you see as gentle and sweet.
   - _"Come along, my dove, the carriage is waiting," she said._
   - _"You've done so well, my dove," the old nurse murmured to her patient._
6. Someone, especially a central banker, who prefers low interest rates and easier monetary policy as a way to boost growth and employment.
   - Simple: A person, often at a central bank, who wants low interest rates and easy lending to help growth and jobs.
   - _Markets rallied after the Fed chair, long seen as a dove, signaled more rate cuts._
   - _The committee's doves argued that raising rates now would choke off the recovery._
7. Short for love dove: a tablet of the drug ecstasy. *(slang)* — Ellipsis of love dove (“tablet of the drug ecstasy”).
   - Simple: Short for love dove: one pill of the drug ecstasy.
   - _Someone pressed a dove into his hand as the music peaked._
   - _Officers found a dove wrapped in foil in the glove box._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "DOHV" US /doʊv/, UK /dəʊv/

2. Past tense of dive. Used chiefly in the US and Canada, and in nonstandard use also as its past participle. *(Canada, US)* — simple past of dive
   - Simple: Past tense of dive. People use it mostly in American English.
   - _She dove off the dock into the cold lake._
   - _The quarterback dove for the end zone as time expired._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–7** — Proto-Germanic *dūbǭ became Proto-West Germanic *dūbā and then Old English *dūfe ("dove, pigeon"), which came down into Middle English as douve. Related words include Dutch duif, German Taube, Danish due, and Swedish duva.
**Meaning 2** — A modern strong past-tense form, created by analogy with pairs such as drive → drove and weave → wove.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dove (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).