Devotion

How to spell devotion

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce devotion

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does devotion mean?

1. nounDeep loyalty, love, or commitment shown towards a person, cause, or activity.
2. nounReligious worship or fervent observance, often as a private practice or prayer.

Devotion in a sentence

• Her devotion to the family business kept it open through hard years.

• Morning devotion was a fixed part of her daily routine.

• The coach praised the team for their devotion during long training sessions.

• The pilgrims expressed their devotion at every shrine along the route.

Where does devotion come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin devotio, meaning a vow or a solemn dedication, which was built on the verb devovere, 'to vow completely' or 'to consecrate'. That verb combines de-, here intensifying the action to 'fully' or 'down', with vovere, meaning 'to vow or pledge'; the same vovere root sits inside the everyday words 'vow' and 'vote'. In Roman usage devotio could even describe a general ritually pledging his own life to the gods for victory, so the original sense carried a heavy weight of total self-surrender. English took the word in the 1200s through Old French devocion, where it first carried a strongly religious meaning of fervent worship before broadening to mean loyal love and dedication of any kind. The spelling keeps the Latin vot stem visible, which is a handy reminder that the middle is -vot- and not -vit-.

How the word is built

• de- (down, fully)
• vot (from vovere: to vow, pledge)
• -ion (noun suffix)