dévot

Forms

dévot (feminine dévote, masculine plural dévots, feminine plural dévotes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēvōtus (“devoted to God, pious”), a sense the word had in Ecclesiastical Latin; in classical Latin it meant “devoted, zealous”.^[2][3][4] It is the past participle of dēvoveō (“to vow, dedicate, consecrate”), formed from dē- and voveō (“to vow”).^[2][5][6] The Latin verb is also behind vouer and vœu.^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan devot, Spanish devoto and Italian divoto.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded at the end of the 12th century in the French sermons of Saint Bernard, of a religious day; about 1200 devos is used of a pious person in the Moralités sur Job.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The religious sense came with the word and gradually pushed out the general sense “devoted”, which lasted until the 16th century with shades such as “intimate” and, in the language of courtship, “servant, lover”.^[5] In the 16th century translators of ancient texts used the feminine dévote for a priestess of a god.^[5]

From the 17th century the word took on a pejorative note, above all after Molière's Tartuffe (1664), with its dévots de place, and with faux dévot “hypocrite”.^[2][5] The noun une dévote is often pejorative today.^[8]

English devout (about 1200) comes from Old French devot and directly from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1138 – The adverb dévotement is first recorded.^[5]
• End of the 12th century – Devot appears in the sermons of Saint Bernard.^[2]
• c. 1200 – Used of a pious person in the Moralités sur Job.^[2]
• c. 1200 – English devout is first recorded.^[9]
• 16th century – The general sense “devoted” goes out of use.^[5]
• 1664 – Molière's Tartuffe uses dévots de place pejoratively, and faux dévot is recorded.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. devout, sincerely attached to religion and its practices;^[8][2][7] dévot à a saint: having a particular devotion to that saint.^[8][2][7]
2. Showing devotion, of things: une attitude dévote.^[8][7]
3. (pejorative) Excessively or hypocritically pious.^[7][3]

Noun

1. A devout person; often pejorative, a bigot: une vieille dévote.^[8]
2. (dated) Faux dévot: a hypocrite who makes a show of piety; a tartufe.^[8][5]

Word family

• dévotement

Related words

• dévotion
• vouer
• vœu
• Latin dēvōtus
• English devout

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 61b
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com