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Today it means

devote

to give time or effort to

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Where does the word "devote" come from? It comes from Latin devovere, and was adopted directly into English (1580s).

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Where does the word "devote" come from? It comes from Latin devovere, and was adopted directly into English (1580s).

Devote’s story begins in Latin: devovere meant “to vow.” 'de-' plus 'vovere', to vow. It reached English by 1580s as devote. 'devout' and 'devotion' are older. Today, devote means to give time or effort to.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient devovere "to vow", 'de-' plus 'vovere', to vow.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1580s devote "to dedicate by vow", 'devout' and 'devotion' are older.

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