The thesis of the fundamental origin of religious terms from the profane realm is evident. Many of such terms originally functioned or still function in secular language. In religious language they receive new meanings with which they serve the area of religious experience. Such terms include: “spiritual exercises”, “retreats”, and “spiritual spa”. The purpose of this article is to examine to what extent the etymology, original content, and linguistic uses of these three terms, which are collectively used to name the same religious practices, can affect the understanding of these practices. This is important because the use of each term, shown chronologically, bears evidence of the changes in the understanding of the practices by which they are called: “exercises” points to effort and training, “retreats” (in Polish: “rekolekcje”) – according to their Polish etymology – to the activity of (re)collecting, while “spiritual spas” have medicinal, but also aesthetic or pleasurable connotations. This evolution of meaning points to a close connection between religious language and the cultural experience of its users
