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devoto

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word devoto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC Plautus, Casina More words from the 3rd century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin dēvoveō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin voveō
Latin dēvoveō
Latin dēvōtō
Romanian devota
From the same root
English devotee ← dēvoveō
Latin dēvōtiō ← dēvoveō
Latin dēvōtus ← dēvoveō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈwoː.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈvɔː.to][1]

Forms

dēvōtō (present infinitive dēvōtāre, perfect active dēvōtāvī, supine dēvōtātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is the frequentative from Latin dēvoveō (“to devote, curse”) + -tō.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus is the first to use it, in the Casina, of bewitching the lots that are being drawn (sortes devotare).[4][5][2]

Semantic evolution

Besides putting a spell on someone or something,[2][6] it could mean to dedicate or devote: Accius, quoted by Nonius, has animam devotabo hostibus, “I will devote my life to the enemy”.[6] Apuleius and Minucius Felix use it of invoking gods with vows,[6][4] and a herbal attributed to Apuleius pairs devotatus with defixus, “bound by a spell”.[6][4] In Christian Latin it meant to curse: Augustine remarks that hardly anyone says devotare se except when cursing himself, and that anathemare was what was commonly called devotare.[3] The Itala and a work attributed to Cyprian use it of swearing an oath under a self-curse.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of bewitching the lots.[4][5][7]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it of devoting one's life.[6][7]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of invoking gods with vows.[6][4][7]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for cursing oneself.[4][3][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To put a spell on, bewitch.[2][6]
  2. To dedicate, devote.[6]
  3. To invoke with vows.[6][4]
  4. (Late Latin) To curse; to swear with a curse on oneself.[6][3][5]

Word family

  • dēvōtātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Devoto.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/devoto. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·