Etymologically
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devotion

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˈvəʊʃən/[1]
  • US: /dɪˈvoʊʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English devocioun,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French devocion,[5][3][4] and directly Latin dēvōtiō (“a devoting, consecrating”),[3][6][5] in Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com its later form dēvōtiō,[4][7] a noun of action from dēvoveō (“to dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly”),[3][5] from dē- (“down, away”) and voveō (“to vow”).[3] The Latin word also gave Old Occitan devotio, Catalan devoció, Spanish devoción and Italian devozione.[5] Anglo-Norman devociun is recorded from the second quarter of the 12th century, for religious devotion and acts of worship.[8] devout, vow and vote come from the same Latin verb.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Religious devoutness and reverence, and a feeling of devout awe: before 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle.[5][2] Etymonline gives "profound religious emotion, awe, reverence", c. 1200.[3]

Semantic evolution

The OED sets out the history: in Latin the word meant first a devoting or consecrating by vow, then devotedness and loyalty, and in Christian use devotion to God; only that Christian sense passed through church Latin into the Romance languages and into Middle English.[5] From it came "an act of religious worship" (Chaucer, about 1385), now only in the plural devotions, prayers,[5][3] and a form of prayer for private or family use (before 1450).[5] Chaucer used the word 24 times, also for earnest attention.[10] After the Renaissance the Latin sense "the action of devoting" came back in Italian, French and English, first only in religious matters (1502 in English);[5][3] in the 16th century the word was extended to people and secular things, which H. Estienne noted as a novelty in French in 1578.[5] In English this sense, devoted attachment to a person or cause, is recorded from before 1530, in a letter of Wolsey.[5] Johnson (1755) still put "the state of being consecrated or dedicated" first, before "piety".[11] From 1542 to 1662 a devotion could also be an offering or alms.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – devoutness, reverence (Ancrene Riwle).[5][2]
  • 1340 – religious worship, prayer and praise.[5]
  • c. 1385 – an act of worship; later only plural, prayers.[5]
  • a1450 – a form of prayer for private use.[5]
  • 1502 – solemn dedication, consecration.[5]
  • a1530 – devoted attachment to a person or cause.[5]
  • 1542 – an offering, alms (obsolete by 1662).[5]
  • 1879 – in the Roman Catholic Church, worship directed to a special object.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Deep love and loyalty to a person, cause or activity: his devotion to his garden.
  2. Religious zeal; piety.
  3. devotions: prayers or acts of worship, especially private ones.
  4. The giving of time or effort wholly to a purpose.

Word family

  • devotional
  • self-devotion
  • devote
  • devout
  • vow
  • vote
  • votive

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.