devout

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English devout, also devot,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French devot (“pious, devoted”),^{[6][5][7][8][3]} and partly directly borrowed from Latin dēvōtus (“devoted, given up by vow”),^[6][4] the past participle of dēvoveō (“to dedicate by vow”).^[5][7][8][3] Merriam-Webster and Collins give the Latin source as Late Latin.^[2][9] The Latin verb is formed from the intensive prefix dē- and voveō (“to promise, vow”), the source of vote and vow.^[10] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from about 1200.^[11] The close vowel of Old French devot became Middle English /uː/, and so the modern diphthong.^[5] It is a doublet of devote, which was borrowed directly from Latin in the 16th century.^[10][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Devoted to the worship of God, pious: about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle,^[5][4] where Barnhart finds devot probably before 1200.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word was first used of people, especially in prayer.^[6] From before 1340, in Richard Rolle's Psalter, it was also used of actions and things that express devotion,^[5] a use Etymonline dates to the late 14th century.^[6] A broader sense, devoted to a person or cause, was used from about 1380 to 1659.^[5] The sense "earnest, sincere", as in a devout hope, is dated by the OED to 1828, in Webster's dictionary,^[5] but by Etymonline to the mid-15th century.^[6] Hamlet's phrase "a consummation devoutly to be wish'd" uses the adverb in this sense.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – devoted to divine worship; pious.^[5][4] Barnhart dates devot to before 1200.^[7]
• before 1340 – of acts, expressing devotion.^[5]
• c. 1380 – devoted to a person or cause (obsolete by 1659).^[5]
• 1828 – earnest, sincere.^[5] Etymonline dates this sense to the mid-15th century.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Deeply religious; devoted to worship and religious duties: a devout pilgrim.^[9][2][5]
2. Showing or expressing devotion or piety: They stood in devout silence.^[2][5]
3. Sincere, earnest or heartfelt: It is my devout wish that you succeed.^[9][2][5]

Word family

• devoutly
• devoutness
• undevout

Related words

• devote
• devotion
• devotee
• vow
• vote

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d 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)
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray