devotion means the act or state of devoting or being devoted; a feeling of being devoted (to something). It carries an Arena rating of 1689, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, devotion ranks #1,849 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #4,186 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #5,563 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #6,193 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
devotion is pronounced /dɪˈvəʊʃən/.
Why “devotion” is a great word
Profound dedication, loyalty, or religious fervor given to a person, cause, or deity. From Old French devocion, from Latin dēvōtiō ("act of consecrating by a vow, loyalty, piety"), from dēvōtus, the past participle of dēvovēre ("to vow, to devote"), from dē- ("away, down") + vovēre ("to vow"). Unlike "dedication," which often implies a formal, task-oriented commitment, or "piety," which denotes dutiful reverence, devotion is the private, ardent fuel of the soul made visible. It is the silent hour kept before a candle-lit shrine, the worn path to a sickbed trodden daily, the patient hand correcting the same beginner's scale for the thousandth time—a love that has forgotten it is a choice and become a form of gravity.
Etymology
From Old French devocion, from Latin dēvōtiō, from dēvōtum + -tio, from the supine of dēvoveō (“vow, devote”); equivalent to devote + -ion.
noun
- The act or state of devoting or being devoted; a feeling of being devoted (to something).e.g.“deep devotion”
- Religious veneration, zeal, or piety.e.g.“He showed great devotion to his religious practices.”
- A prayer (often found in the plural).
- Religious offerings; alms.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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