Etymograph

English

devout

Devout comes from Ecclesiastical Latin dēvōtus ‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed,…’, from Latin dēvoveō ‘to vow, offer’, and ultimately from 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‘to vow, promise’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvoveō1‘to vow, offer’
  6. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500dēvōtus1‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed, devoted’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400devot1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devout1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611devout1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English devout
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “a devout man, and one that feared God”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-Wiktionary, English devout‘to promise, to vow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyetiWiktionary, English devoutreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeōWiktionary, English devout‘to vow, promise’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveōWiktionary, English devout‘to vow, promise’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvoveōWiktionary, English devout‘to vow, offer’
  6. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500dēvōtusWiktionary, English devout‘vowed, promised, dedicated, having been vowed, devoted’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400devotWiktionary, English devout
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devoutWiktionary, English devout
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611devoutWiktionary, English devout. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “a devout man, and one that feared God”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *woɣʷeō ‘to vow, promise’

vote, 1 more

through Latin voveō ‘to vow, promise’

vow, 1 more

through Latin dēvoveō ‘to vow, offer’

devotion, 1 more

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

devote, 1 more

Today it means

adj Devoted to religion or to religious feelings and duties; pious; extremely religious; godly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “devout”. 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- / devout

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