Lent as a vow
Lent isn't just about giving things up
[...] Recently I’ve learned a new meaning of the word “vow.” Did you know a vow is not the same thing as a promise, but that it more nearly resembles the word “vote?” Both words, “vow” and “vote,” come from the Latin root, “votum.” Rather than an oath or a binding contract, a vow is a choice, an intention, something we desire to accomplish but which usually does not cost us our life or fortune if we don’t follow through ....
[...] Recently I’ve learned a new meaning of the word “vow.” Did you know a vow is not the same thing as a promise, but that it more nearly resembles the word “vote?” Both words, “vow” and “vote,” come from the Latin root, “votum.” Rather than an oath or a binding contract, a vow is a choice, an intention, something we desire to accomplish but which usually does not cost us our life or fortune if we don’t follow through ....
posted by crystal | 10:54 PM
2 Comments:
I never knew that about the word vow.
You got me to go read about the Hebrew neder, which is often translated as vow because there is no exact equivalent in English. But that translation is wrong.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neder
Thanks, Crystal.
Hi Dina,
Thanks for the link. So interesting how different languages have similar but very different meanings for words. They say language forms how we think about stuff so definitions matter.
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