Etymograph

English

devote

Devote comes from Latin dēvōtus ‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁wegʷʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-1‘to promise, to vow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeō1‘to vow, promise’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveō1‘vow, promise’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvoveō2‘dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvōtus2‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed, devoted’past participle of dēvoveō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667devote2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin devoveo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English devote
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, (please specify the page number): “A world devote to universal wrack”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-Wiktionary, Latin devoveo‘to promise, to vow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyetiWiktionary, Latin devoveoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeōWiktionary, Latin devoveo‘to vow, promise’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveōWiktionary, Latin devoveo‘vow, promise’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvoveōWiktionary, English devote‘dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvōtusWiktionary, English devote‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed, devoted’past participle of dēvoveō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667devoteWiktionary, English devote. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, (please specify the page number): “A world devote to universal wrack”

Linked words

through Latin voveō ‘vow, promise’

vow, 2 more

through Latin dēvōtus ‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed,…’

devout, 1 more

Today it means

verb to give one's time, focus one's efforts, commit oneself, etc. entirely for, on, or to a certain matter; to consecrate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “devote”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin devoveo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁wegʷʰ- / devote

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