religion means belief in a spiritual or metaphysical reality (often including at least one deity), accompanied by practices or rituals pertaining to the belief.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, religion ranks #22,783 of 40,599 for Qualifying.
religion is pronounced /ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.ən/.
Why “religion” is a great word
Religion is a particular system of belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods, accompanied by associated practices and rituals. From Middle English religioun, from Old French religion, from Latin religiō ('scrupulousness, conscientiousness, reverence, a bond between humans and gods'), likely from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂leg- ('to care, to gather'), with meanings preserved in Latin legere ('to gather, read') and dīligere ('to esteem, love'). Displaced Old English ǣfæstnes. Unlike 'faith,' which is the inward conviction, or 'spirituality,' which is the personal sense of the sacred, religion is the architecture built to house them. It is the incense-coiled ritual, the canonized text worn smooth by veneration, and the collective chant that rises from individual throats to become a single sound—the formal, human attempt to gather the infinite into a vessel we can carry.
Etymology
From Middle English religioun, from Old French religion, from Latin religiō (“scrupulousness, pious misgivings, superstition, conscientiousness, sanctity, an object of veneration, cult-observance, reverence”). Most likely from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂leg- with the meanings preserved in Latin dīligere and legere (“to read repeatedly”, “to have something solely in mind”). Displaced Old English ǣfæstnes (“religion, lawfulness”).
noun
- Belief in a spiritual or metaphysical reality (often including at least one deity), accompanied by practices or rituals pertaining to the belief.e.g.“Holonyms: cosmology, ontology, epistemology, philosophy”
- A particular system of such belief, and the rituals and practices proper to it.e.g.“Holonyms: cosmology, ontology, epistemology, philosophy”
- The way of life committed to by monks and nuns.e.g.“The monk entered religion when he was 20 years of age.”
- Rituals and actions associated with religious beliefs, but considered apart from them.e.g.“I think some Christians would love Jesus more if they weren't so stuck in religion.”
- Any practice to which someone or some group is seriously devoted.e.g.“At this point, Star Trek has really become a religion.”
- Faithfulness to a given principle; conscientiousness.e.g.“Oh with what religion doe I respect and observe the same!” — 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 8, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
verb
- Engage in religious practice.
- Indoctrinate into a specific religion.e.g.“To men whose minds are thus religioned, tied back to gods that never advance, there can never be any such word as progress” — 1890, John R. Kelso, Deity analyzed: In six lectures - Page 37
- To make sacred or symbolic; sanctify.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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