devotio

Forms

dēvōtiō f (genitive dēvōtiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dēvoveō (“to devote, vow”) + -tiō.^[2][1][3] dēvoveō is a compound of dē- and voveō (“to vow”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,^[4] who says that a son imitated Publius Decius in devoting his life.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Roman religion it was the act by which a general devoted himself, and his army, to the gods of the underworld for his country;^[2][5] Cicero speaks of the gods appeased by the self-sacrifices of the Decii, and Livy, Valerius Maximus and Seneca also use it.^[2][5] It also meant a formal curse: Nepos has pillars on which a curse had been written.^[2][5] Tacitus and Suetonius use it of spells and magical formulas joined with poisons,^[5][2] and Apuleius of auspicious prayers.^[2][5] In late writers it is loyalty or allegiance,^[5] and Christian authors use it for piety and devotion: Lactantius says that a man without devotion is useless to God.^[5] In medieval Latin it is obedience and loyalty, a vow, piety and worship, a pious deed, and compliance.^[6] Church Latin keeps both the good and the bad senses.^[7] English devotion (c. 1200) came from it partly through Old French, first meaning profound religious feeling.^[3]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero, of the self-sacrifice of the Decii.^[2][4]
• c. 100–24 BC – Nepos, of a written curse.^[2][4]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus, of spells.^[5][4]
• c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius, of Christian devotion.^[5][4]
• c. 1200 – Borrowed into English as devotion.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The self-sacrifice of a general to the gods of the underworld for his country; a devoting, consecrating.^[2][5][1]
2. A curse, imprecation;^[2][5][1] a spell, magical formula;^[5][1] a prayer.^[2][5]
3. (Late Latin) Loyalty, allegiance.^[5][1][6]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Piety, devotion;^[5][1][7] (Medieval Latin) a vow; a pious deed.^[6]

Related words

• dēvōtus
• dēvoveō
• voveō
• English devotion

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson