Devotional

How to spell devotional

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce devotional

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does devotional mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to or used in religious worship or earnest dedication.
2. nounA short reading or service intended to assist private or group worship.

Devotional in a sentence

• adjective

  The choir performed a collection of devotional music for the evening service.

• noun

  The meeting opened with a brief devotional led by the chaplain.

• adjective

  She kept a devotional candle burning in the corner of the room.

• noun

  He wrote a daily devotional for the congregation to use at home.

Where does devotional come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb vovere, meaning 'to vow' or 'to promise solemnly', whose past participle gave the noun votum, 'a vow or pledge made to a god'. From that came the Latin devovere, 'to dedicate by a vow', literally to vow something down or away, where the de- carried the sense of full or complete commitment. The related noun devotio described a solemn dedication, and English absorbed the family through Old French during the medieval period, giving us 'devout' and 'devotion'. The adjective 'devotional' was formed in English in the late 1500s by adding the -al suffix to 'devotion', describing anything connected with religious worship. The same votum root also lies behind the everyday word 'vote', a reminder that a ballot was once thought of as a solemn pledge, and the single -t- and the -tion spelling both come straight from that Latin votum.

How the word is built

• de- (down, fully)
• vot (from Latin votum: a vow)
• -ion (noun)
• -al (adjective/noun suffix)