Past tense of diverge; moved in different directions or developed differently from something else.
From Latin 'divergere' (di- 'apart' + vergere 'to turn'). The meaning evolved from physical separation to metaphorical differences in opinions, paths, or development.
The word perfectly captures that moment in evolution when two species split from a common ancestor—biologists literally use 'diverged' to describe how giraffes and okapis went their separate ways millions of years ago.
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