The German abstract noun Frömmigkeit (piety) and the adjective it is based on – fromm (pious, devout) – were long polysemous. Until the late 19th century, they preserved their original meaning: OHG fruma meant “benefit,” “usefulness”; the derived MHG adjective vrum (frumb) was used in the sense of “beneficial,” “useful” (e.g. ein frommes Pferd [a useful horse]; zum Nutz und Frommen [to the benefit (of someone)]). As an expression of orderliness, God himself is extolled as fromm in hymns (Hym…