bless

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To ask God to protect or help someone or something.

   The priest blessed the young couple.

2. 2
   verb

   To make something holy through a religious ceremony.

   The bishop blessed the new church.

3. 3
   verb

   To give someone something good, as if as a gift.

   They were blessed with three healthy children.

Simplified etymology

Bless comes from Old English blēdsian or blētsian, perhaps based on blōd, “blood,” with the original sense “mark or consecrate with blood.” Its history is uncertain because no equivalent survives in other Germanic languages. Its meaning was later shaped by its use to translate Latin benedīcere, “praise” or “worship,” and Greek eulogein, “speak well of,” while bless and bliss also influenced one another.

From Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian (“to consecrate (with blood)”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdisōn (“to sprinkle, mark or hallow with blood”), from Proto-Germanic *blōþą (“blood”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to bloom”). Cognate with Old Norse bleza (“to bless”) (whence Icelandic blessa), Old English blēdan (“to bleed”). More at bleed.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary