Devout means deeply and sincerely religious. A devout Catholic, devout believers, devout in her practice.
It describes the depth of practice rather than the strictness of belief, and it is respectful — calling somebody devout is not a criticism, where calling them zealous might be. It is also used of any serious commitment: a devout supporter. Note devotion, devotee; and that devout and devote are the same Latin word, meaning vowed.
1adjectivedevoutDeeply and sincerely religious.
“Her grandmother was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every single morning.”
synonyms: pious, committed
devout is a quality of religious depth.
Latin devotus is the participle of devovere, to vow — de plus vovere, to vow. Devote, vow and votive come from the same vowing.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₁wegʷʰ-
Middle English
devout
English, today
devout
From Middle English devout. From Middle English devout, devot, from Old French devot (French dévot), from Latin dēvōtus, perfect passive participle of dēvōveō. a doublet of devote.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA