Divvy has the etymological history Late 19th-century colloquial alteration and shortening of dividend (or divide), with the familiar -y ending. The immediate etymological form is English dividend. The suffix -y forms an adjective meaning characterized by the base, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as verb and noun, it means "to divide and share out, especially money or spoils", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Its colloquial history matters: the word belongs to informal usage before settling into the present dictionary sense. Related words include dividend, divide, and division.