Word of the Day for Tuesday October 18, 1005 votary \VOH-tuh-ree\, noun: 1. One who is devoted, given, or addicted to some particular pursuit, subject, study, or way of life. 2. A devoted admirer. 3. A devout adherent of a religion or cult. 4. A dedicated believer or advocate. When she held out her hand to receive the glass, she had more the air of a full-grown Bacchante, celebrating the rites of Bacchus, than a votary at the shrine of Hygeia. --Pamela Neville-Sington, [1]Fanny Trollope Perhaps most amazingly, votaries of "diversity" insist on absolute conformity. --Tony Snow, "Lifestyle police: Enough already," [2]USA Today, June 10, 1996 It must be remembered that undisguised atrocities on a stupendous scale. .. would be too strong for the stomach of even the most brutalized people, and would tend to bring war into discredit with all but its monomaniac votaries. --"The Idea of a League of Nations," [3]The Atlantic, February 1919 _________________________________________________________ Votary comes from Latin votum, "vow," from the past participle of vovere, "to vow, to devote." Related words include vow and vote, originally a vow, hence a prayer or ardent wish, hence an expression of preference, as for a candidate. Synonyms: adherent, devotee, supporter. [4]Find more at Thesaurus.com. References 1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670859052/ref=nosim/lexico 2. http://www.usatoday.com/ 3. http://www.theatlantic.com/ 4. http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=votary Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=votary