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Religion (from O.Fr. religion religious community, from L. religionem (nom. religio) respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods, obligation, the bond between man and the gods) is derived from the Latin religiÅ, the ultimate origins of which are obscure.
The Latin term religiÅ, origin of the modern lexeme religion (via Old French/Middle Latin) is of ultimately obscure etymology. It is recorded beginning in the 1st century BC, i.e. in Classical Latin at the beginning of the Roman Empire, notably by Cicero, in the sense of scrupulous or strict observance of the traditional cultus.