Other forms: doves
A dove is a white or pale bird of the pigeon family, and the standard symbol of peace. A white dove, release the doves, the dove of peace.
Biologically doves and pigeons are the same family and the words are used almost interchangeably, with dove tending to the smaller and prettier ones — which is why a wedding releases doves and a city square is full of pigeons. In politics, a dove is somebody who favours negotiation over force, against a hawk, and that pair is standard in news writing. Note that dove is also the American past tense of dive, which British English says as dived.
1noundoveA pale bird of the pigeon family, used as a symbol of peace.
“Two doves were released at the end of the service.”
2nounfavoursSomebody who favours negotiation rather than force.
“The doves in the cabinet lost the argument.”
dove is a bird, or a political position.
Also accepted in games: pigeon
Old English dufe may come from a root meaning to dive, describing the bird's dipping flight — which would make dove and dive relatives after all, and the American past tense an accidental reunion.
Middle English
douve
English, today
dove
From Middle English douve. From Middle English douve, dove, duve, from Old English dūfe (“dove, pigeon”), from Proto-West Germanic dūbā, from Proto-Germanic dūbǭ (“dove, pigeon”). Cognate with Scots doo, dow, stq Duuwe, West Frisian do, Dutch duif, Afrikaans duif, Sranan Tongo doifi, German Taube, German Low German Duuv, nds-nl duve, doeve, Danish due, Faroese dúgva, Icelandic dúfa, Norwegian Bokmål due, Norwegian Nynorsk due, Swedish duva, Yiddish טויב, Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌱𐍉.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA