de·vote / diˈvōt/ • v. [tr.] 1. (devote something to) give all or a large part of one's time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause): I wanted to devote more time to my family she devoted herself to fund-raising.2. archaic invoke or pronounce a curse upon.ORIGIN: late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘dedicate formally, consecrate’): from Latin devot- ‘consecrated,’ from the verb devovere, from de- ‘formally’ + vovere ‘to vow.’

devote XVI. f. dēvōt-, pp. stem of L. dēvovēre, f. DE- 3 + vovēre vow.
Hence devotee XVII. See -EE. So devotion XIII. — (O)F. — L.