Other forms: devoted, devoting, devotes
To devote something is to give it over completely to one thing. She devotes her Saturdays to the allotment; he devoted thirty years to the same stretch of railway line.
Devote nearly always takes TO: you devote time, money, energy, a life, a chapter or a whole room to something. Devote yourself to a cause is stronger again, and means everything else goes to the back of the queue. The past participle works as an adjective on its own, and that is where you meet the word most: a devoted father, a devoted fan, devoted to her dog. The noun is devotion, a devotee is someone who has gone all in on a hobby or a band, and devout is the near neighbour to keep separate, because devout describes a person's religion rather than what they give their hours to.
1verbdevoteTo give time, effort or money entirely to one purpose or one person.
“He devotes every evening to the model railway in the loft.”
2verbyourselfTo give yourself over completely to a cause or an activity.
“After the war she devoted herself to teaching.”
3verbsetTo set part of something aside for one subject: a page, a room, a programme.
“The museum devotes an entire floor to clocks.”
Also accepted in games: dedicate
Latin dēvoveō meant to dedicate by a vow, to promise solemnly, and in its darkest use to offer yourself up as a sacrifice. Its past participle dēvōtus is what English devote is made from. The same Latin word stands behind devout, which kept the religion while devote kept the giving. Devotion still holds both halves: prayers on one side, a devoted father on the other.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₁wegʷʰ-
Latin
dēvōtus
English, today
devote
Latin dēvōtus, past participle of Latin dēvoveō (“dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly”). a doublet of devow; see also devout. Displaced native ēstful, from ēstful.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA