Dictionary

devotee en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌdɛv.oʊˈti/ (General-American)
• /ˌdɛv.əˈtiː/ (Australia, Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɖɪˈʋoː.ʈiː/ (South-Asia)
• (Australia) audio
• /ˌdi.voʊˈti/ (General-American)

Etymology

From devote + -ee. The narrowed meaning in sense 3 arises from the sound similarity with amputee.

Meanings

1. An ardent enthusiast or admirer.
   • a devotee of classical music
   • These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. 1908 January 14, John Muir, “Hetch Hetchy Valley”, in Sierra Club Bulletin:
   • *The Expanse'*s patois has become, like Klingon and Dothraki, the show's great unifier—the slang all devotees speak. 2017 April 5, Emily Dreyfuss, “That Cool Dialect on The Expanse Mashes Up 6 Languages”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2022:
   • He was a devotee of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
2. A believer in a particular religion or god.
   • devotees thronged the temple
   • devotees of Krishna
   • It has been said that a Japanese is a Shintōist in life and a Buddhist at death; and it is also true that he may be during life, at one and the same time, a devotee of both. 1913, Ernest Wilson Clement, A Handbook of Modern Japan, page 253:
3. (slang) A person (almost exclusively a man) with a sexual attraction for people with physical disabilities, especially amputees.
   • One of the paradoxical issues facing people with disabilities are "devotees": temporarily able-bodied people who are attracted to them because of their disabilities.[…]Although some women with disabilities experience a positive effect, devotee forums and websites simultaneously sexually objectify women with disabilities. 2022, Thomas J. Gerschick, “The body, disability, and sexuality”, in Introducing the New Sexuality Studies: Original Essays, 4th edition:
   • He becomes involved in a story about a community of wannabes and devotees, those who desire to be sexually intimate with disabled bodies, and meets Fiona, an art conservator and wannabe, or disabled pretender. 2019, Ann Millett-Gallant, “Basilisk and the Representation of Physically Disabled Women in Film”, in Contemporary Art and Disability Studies:
   • The amputee-devotee community, consisting of women with amputations and the men sexually attracted to them, has been widely discussed within the disability community. 2004, Alison Kafer, “Inseparable: Gender and disability in the amputee-devotee community”, in Gendering Disability, page 108:

Forms

Deriveds

devoteeism

Synonyms

enthusiast · maniac · aficionado · votary · fan · fancier · freak · fiend · devotee · zealot · junkie · amateur · buff · addict

Translations (51)

pt devoto (admirer) · pt entusiasta (admirer) · hi उपासक (believer) · de Anhänger (admirer) · hi प्रशंसक (admirer) · ta பக்தர் (believer) · ru покло́нница (admirer) · de Anhängerschaft (admirer) · ur پرستار (admirer) · bn আবেদ (believer) · pl wielbicielka (admirer) · fi uskovainen (believer) · de Verehrer (admirer) · de Bewunderer (admirer) · ga vóitín (believer) · de Entourage (admirer) · pl entuzjasta (admirer) · de Anhänger (believer) · ta பக்தன் (believer) · hi भक्त (believer) · es devoto (believer) · de Enthusiast (admirer) · cs vyznavač (believer) · ru покло́нник (admirer) · fi palvoja (admirer) · de Gläubiger (believer) · pl wielbiciel (admirer) · fr inconditionnel (admirer) · ru пре́данный (believer) · fi ihailija (admirer) · de Liebhaber (admirer) · ug ئىخلاسمەن (believer) · fr dévot (admirer) · it seguace (believer) · de Fan (admirer) · mi kaitautāwhi (admirer) · fi intoilija (admirer) · it devoto (believer) · it fedele (believer) · ur عقیدت مند (believer) · es devoto (admirer) · de Eiferer (believer) · te భక్త (admirer) · de Verehrer (believer) · ug زاھىت (believer) · pl entuzjastka (admirer) · ug ئابىد (believer) · pt discípulo (admirer) · cs nadšenec (admirer) · ur عابد (believer) · ug ھەۋەسكار (admirer)