Where does “religious” come from?

Religious derives from Middle English religiouse, from Anglo-Norman religieus, from Latin religiosus, formed with the suffix -osus from religo, meaning to bind or tie back, ultimately from Latin ligo meaning to bind.

religious (English): Concerning religion; Committed to the practice or...

Definitions

Concerning religion; Committed to the practice or...

Ancestry of “religious”, step by step

religious traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin religiositas

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Latin	religiositas	religiousness
2	Latin	religiōsus	pious, devout, religious
3	Latin	religiō	scrupulousness, conscientious exactness
4	Latin	religō	to bind fast
5	Latin	rĕ-	back, backwards
6	Latin	prōdūcō	to lead or bring forth, forward or out
7	Latin	prō-	forward direction, forward movement
8	Proto-Italic	*pro-	pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings
9	Proto-Indo-European	pro-	toward, forward
10	Proto-Indo-European	por-	to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
11	Proto-Indo-European	per-	before, in front; first; to go through
12	Proto-Indo-European	pr̥tós	passed , crossed

via Middle English religiouse

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Middle English	religiouse	—
2	Anglo-Norman	religieus	religious; monk
3	Latin	religiosus	pious, devout, religious; scrupulous; sacred,...
4	Latin	religio	scrupulousness, conscientious exactness; piety,...
5	Latin	relego	I gather, collect again, recover; I travel,...
6	Latin	lego	I choose, select, appoint; I collect, gather,...
7	Latin	lex	a proposition or motion for a law made to the...
8	Proto-Italic	lēg-	—
9	Proto-Indo-European	leǵ-s	—
10	Proto-Indo-European	leǵ-	to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “religious”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →