religion

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Belief in a god or gods, together with the practices and worship connected to that belief.

   Religion plays an important role in many people's lives.

2. 2
   noun

   A particular system of faith and worship, such as Christianity or Islam.

   I was raised in the Christian religion.

3. 3
   noun

   Any activity or interest that someone is extremely devoted to.

   For some fans, football is almost a religion.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Religion entered Middle English through French religioun from Latin religio, a word associated with awe and reverence but also with fear, taboo, and ritual. Its deeper origin is disputed: it may derive from religere, “to read over again,” suggesting painstaking observance of rites, or from religare, formed from re- plus ligare, “to tie or bind,” suggesting that which ties believers to God.

Etymology tree Latin religiōbor. Old French religionbor. Middle English religioun English religion 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”).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary