Etymologically
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devote

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˈvəʊt/[1]
  • US: /dɪˈvoʊt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēvōtus, the past participle of dēvoveō (“to vow, dedicate by a vow”),[2][3][4][5][6] formed from dē- (“down, away”) and voveō (“to vow”), the source of vow and vote.[3][4][7] The OED compares the frequentative dēvōtō, much used in medieval Latin for the simple verb.[2] Barnhart notes that the verb was associated in meaning and form with devout, and may have developed from an earlier adjective of the same spelling, meaning devoted or faithful (about 1449), which was a variant of that word;[4] it is thus a doublet of it.[4] Merriam-Webster likewise derives the archaic adjective partly from devot (“devout”).[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To set apart or dedicate solemnly, as if by a vow; to consecrate: 1586, in Angel Day's English Secretorie.[2][8][4]

Semantic evolution

Shakespeare's Othello (before 1616) has the sense of giving oneself up wholly to a pursuit or purpose,[2] which Etymonline dates to about 1600 and which is now the main meaning.[3][8] From 1647 the verb was also used of consigning someone to evil or destruction, or calling down a curse on them,[2][3] and Etymonline notes that it often had a negative sense in the 18th century: Johnson's second and third senses (1755) are "to addict, to give up to ill" and "to curse; to doom to destruction".[3][9] An archaic adjective devote, devoted or devout, is recorded from 1597,[2] and a noun devote, a devotee (1630), was replaced between 1675 and 1725 by devotee.[2][4][10] Mapping Metaphor links the verb's sense to the field of faith since the late 16th century.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1449 – devote, adjective, devoted, faithful, a variant of devout (Barnhart).[4]
  • 1586 – to dedicate solemnly, as by a vow; to consecrate.[2][8][4]
  • 1597 – adjective, devoted (now archaic).[2]
  • a1616 – to give up wholly to a pursuit or purpose, in Shakespeare.[2]
  • 1630 – noun, a devotee (later replaced by devotee).[2]
  • 1647 – to consign to destruction; to curse.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To give one's time, effort, attention or oneself wholly to a cause, activity or person: She devoted her retirement to restoring old boats.[8][12][13][2]
  2. To set apart for a particular purpose or use: Two pages are devoted to the results.[8][12]
  3. To set apart solemnly, as by a vow; to consecrate or dedicate.[8][12][2]
  4. (obsolete) To doom to destruction; to curse.[13][2][9]

Word family

Usage notes

Devote, dedicate and consecrate all mean to give something to a particular end: devote is the most general and suggests faithfulness, dedicate a more solemn, often formal commitment, and consecrate a sacred one.[12][14] Etymonline quotes the Century Dictionary's distinction that devote names the inward act or feeling, dedicate an outward setting apart by promise.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  11. ^ Mapping Metaphor with the Historical Thesaurus, University of Glasgow, mappingmetaphor.arts.gla.ac.uk
  12. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  14. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House