A Diver Is Also a Bird, and a Loon in America
A diver is someone who dives. In British bird names it also refers to a group of waterbirds that Americans call loons.
A diver is a person who dives, professionally or in sport. It is also a bird: British ornithology calls a family of fish-hunting waterbirds *divers*, while American usage calls the same birds *loons*. A great northern diver and a common loon are one species with two national names. The verb *dive* has two past tenses, *dived* and *dove*, the second chiefly American and formed by analogy with *drive* and *drove*.
- One who dives. *A commercial diver.*
- A waterbird (British). *A red-throated diver.*
- Loon — the American name. *A common loon.*
- Free diver — one who dives without air. *A free diver.*
- Dive — the verb. *Dive in.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | diver | A skilled diver. |
| Plural | divers | Six divers. |
| Verb | dive | Dive down. |
| Past (UK) | dived | He dived. |
| Past (US) | dove | He dove. |
- The divers surfaced after an hour.People.
- A great northern diver on the loch.British bird name.
- Americans call the same bird a loon.Naming.
Bird names that differ by country
- Diver (UK) — loon (US)
- Skua (UK) — jaeger (US), for the smaller species
- Grey plover (UK) — black-bellied plover (US)
- Common buzzard (UK) — an unrelated bird from an American buzzard
- Robin — two entirely different birds in the two countries
From *dive*, Old English *dyfan* and *dufan*, to plunge. The bird name is recorded from the 1600s for its underwater hunting.
Is it dived or dove?
Both are correct. Dived is standard in British English; dove is common in American English.
What is the difference between a diver and a loon?
None. They are the same family of birds, called divers in Britain and loons in North America.