Etymology From Middle English dys, plural of dy. See the etymology of die (etymology 2) for further information. The voiceless /s/ was most likely retained because the word felt like a collective term rather than a plural form (compare pence), and the spelling dice is a result of the pronunciation.
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Gaming with one or more dice.
Or think of a decent young citizen in a toga—perhaps too much dice, you know—coming out here in the train of some prefect, or tax-gatherer, or trader even, to mend his fortunes.1899 (please specify the page), Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part:
On the other hand, evolution is not a matter of chance, even in the sense in which a game of dice is a game of chance.1964, Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky, Heredity and the nature of man:
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I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice.1971, Albert Einstein, Max Born, Hedwig Born. Irene Born (tr.), The Born-Einstein Letters, page 91:
The problem is that no one can throw a die twice in precisely the same way, and this is why dice is a game of chance and not a skill.1990, Ivar Ekeland, Mathematics and the Unexpected, page 67:
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A die.
Proscribed by some
1980, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, “The Winner Takes It All”, Super Trouper, Polar Music The gods may throw a dice / Their minds as cold as ice
A white house set like a dice on a rock already venerable with the scars of wind and water.1945, Lawrence Durrell, Prospero's Cell: A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Corfu:
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When we see a dice, we see an object which has six sides, some of which can be seen from where we are, others can be seen if we twist it or move around it.2009, Hubert L. Dreyfus, Mark A. Wrathall, A Companion to Phenomenology and Existentialism, page 106:
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Cooking, Food, Lifestyle That which has been diced.
Formerly countable
Cut onions, carrots and celery into medium dice.
If your worship is inclined to take a small draught of good wine, though not very cool, I have here a calabash full of the best, and some dices of Tronchon cheese1782, Tobias George Smollett, The history and adventures of the renowned Don Quixote, 5th edition, volumes 3-4, translation of original by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra:
Etymology From Middle English dys, plural of dy. See the etymology of die (etymology 2) for further information. The voiceless /s/ was most likely retained because the word felt like a collective term rather than a plural form (compare pence), and the spelling dice is a result of the pronunciation.
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To play dice.
Virtuous enough; swore little; diced not above seven times — a weekc. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
For Corinius, who gave not a fig for music or dirges, but liked well of carding and dicing, had brought forth his dice box to play with the son of Corund.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 32:
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Tyrion found Timmett dicing with his Burned Men in the barracks.1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam, published 2011, page 407:
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To cut into small cubes.
And dicing Time for gladness casts a moan....1898, Thomas Hardy, Hap:
Dice the vegetables and heat in the double boiler with butter, pepper and salt.1928, “Carrots and Beets in Turnip Border”, in The Ladies' Home Journal, volume 45, page 109:
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But as our urban lives have grown more pressed for time, we have diced our opportunity costs finer and finer; from budgeting days or slabs of hours, we have come to rationing minutes.2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian: