votive
/ˈvoʊ.tɪv/adjective, noun
votive is an adjective meaning “Dedicated or given in fulfillment of a vow or pledge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled V-O-T-I-V-E and has 2 syllables, and it appears about once in every 3 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does votive mean?
adjective
- 1
Dedicated or given in fulfillment of a vow or pledge.
She placed a votive offering at the shrine.
- 2
Of, expressing, or symbolizing a vow. Often used to describe thick cylindrical candles found in many churches, lit when making a private vow or asking a private intention.
The church was lit by votive candles.
noun
- 1
a hymn or chant dedicated to a particular saint, or to the Virgin Mary
- 2
Clipping of votive candle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce votive?
- UK /ˈvəʊ.tɪv/
- US /ˈvoʊ.tɪv/
Votive has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-votive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of votive
- more votive comparative
- most votive superlative
- votives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is votive?
Votive appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Votive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense dedicated or given in fulfillment of a vow or pledge:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does votive come from?
From Middle French votif, from Latin vōtīvus (“votive”), from vōtum (“vow”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).