Revised 2021 More entries for "drove"

droveverb2

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Forms
Frequency

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Factsheet

What does the verb drove mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb drove. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the verb drove?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1750	0.004
1760	0.004
1770	0.0044
1780	0.0045
1790	0.0051
1800	0.0057
1810	0.0065
1820	0.0062
1830	0.007
1840	0.007
1850	0.0074
1860	0.0074
1870	0.0074
1880	0.0069
1890	0.0068
1900	0.0063
1910	0.0063
1920	0.0062
1930	0.0061
1940	0.0057
1950	0.0057
1960	0.0053
1970	0.0052
1980	0.005
1990	0.0047
2000	0.0045
2010	0.0046

See frequency

How is the verb drove pronounced?

British English

/drəʊv/

drohv

U.S. English

/droʊv/

drohv

See pronunciation

Where does the verb drove come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

The earliest known use of the verb drove is in the late 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for drove is from 1776, in the writing of Dougal Graham, poet and chapbook writer.

It is also recorded as a noun from the Old English period (pre-1150).

drove is of multiple origins. Either (i) formed within English, by conversion. Or (ii) formed within English, by back-formation.

Etymons: drove n., drover n.

See etymology

Nearby entries

drought | drouth, n.Old English–
drought-numen, adj.a1325
droughty | drouthy, adj.1596–
droukening, n.c1300
droukening, adj.c1225–1390
droul, v.a1670–1825
droumy, adj.1605–1847
droun, v.1340–70
drove, n.Old English–
drove, v.¹c1350–1500
drove, v.²1776–
drove, v.³1819–
droved, adj.1754–
droveden, n.a1300–
droveland, n.c1500–1910
drover, n.1384–
drovering, n.1850–
drove road, n.1740–
drover's dog, n.1739–
drovership, n.1838–1910
drove way, n.1235–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Entry history for drove, v.²

drove, v.² was revised in September 2021.

drove, v.² was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into drove, v.² in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1897)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

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View drove, v.² in OED Second Edition

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Chicago

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

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“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

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Citation details

Factsheet for drove, v.²

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Nearby entries

drought | drouth, n.Old English–
drought-numen, adj.a1325
droughty | drouthy, adj.1596–
droukening, n.c1300
droukening, adj.c1225–1390
droul, v.a1670–1825
droumy, adj.1605–1847
droun, v.1340–70
drove, n.Old English–
drove, v.¹c1350–1500
drove, v.²1776–
drove, v.³1819–
droved, adj.1754–
droveden, n.a1300–
droveland, n.c1500–1910
drover, n.1384–
drovering, n.1850–
drove road, n.1740–
drover's dog, n.1739–
drovership, n.1838–1910
drove way, n.1235–

Browse more nearby entries