bless

See also: Bless

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: blĕs, IPA^(key): /blɛs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1

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.

Verb

bless (third-person singular simple present blesses, present participle blessing, simple past and past participle blest or blessed)

1. To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify.
2. To make the sign of the cross upon, so as to sanctify.
   • 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC:

     the archbishop vsing certeine praiers, blessed the king

3. To invoke divine favor upon.
4. To honor as holy, glorify; to extol for excellence.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 103:1, column 2:

     A Pſalme of Dauid. Bleſſe the Lord, O my ſoule: and all that is within me, bleſſe his holy Name.

5. To esteem or account happy; to felicitate.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 4:2, column 1:

     And thou ſhalt ſweare, The Lord liueth, in Trueth, in Iudgement, and in Righteouſnes, and the nations ſhall bleſſe themſelues in him, and in him ſhall they glorie.

6. (obsolete) To wave; to brandish.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 6:

     And burning blades about their heads do blesse.

   • 1600, [Torquato Tasso], “(please specify |book=1 to 20)”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC:

     Round his armed head his trenchant blade he blest.

7. (Perl programming, transitive, past tense only blessed) To turn (a reference) into an object.
8. (archaic, with from) To secure, defend, or prevent from.
   • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

     Bless me from marrying a usurer.

   • a. 1645, John Milton, “Il Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 40:

     To bleſs the dores from nightly harm

Antonyms

• curse
• condemn
• (programming): unbless

Derived terms

• bless me
• bless my soul
• bless oneself
• bless someone's cotton socks
• bless someone's heart
• bless up
• bless us
• bless you
• God bless the Duke of Argyle
• God bless the Duke of Argyll
• God bless the mark
• God bless you
• Goddess bless
• Goddess bless you
• gods bless you

 

Related terms

• blessed
• blessing
• bleed
• blood

Translations

confer blessing on

• Afrikaans: seën
• Albanian: bekoj (sq)
• Amharic: ባረከ (baräkä)
• Arabic: بَارَكَ‎ (bāraka)

  Egyptian Arabic: بارك‎ (bārik)

• Aragonese: bendicir
• Armenian: օրհնել (hy) (ōrhnel)
• Asturian: bendicir
• Basque: bedeinkatu
• Belarusian: бласлаўля́ць impf (blaslaŭljácʹ), благаславі́ць pf (blahaslavícʹ)
• Bulgarian: благосла́вям (bg) impf (blagoslávjam), благословя́ (bg) pf (blagoslovjá)
• Catalan: beneir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 保佑 (zh) (bǎoyòu), 佑 (zh) (yòu), 福 (zh) (fú), 祝福 (zh) (zhùfú)

• Czech: žehnat (cs) impf, požehnat pf
• Danish: velsigne, (archaic) signe
• Dutch: zegenen (nl)
• Elfdalian: welsingen
• Esperanto: beni
• Estonian: õnnistama
• Faroese: vælsigna, signa
• Finnish: siunata (fi)
• French: bénir (fr)

  Old French: beneïr

• Friulian: benedî, binidî
• Galician: bendicir (gl)
• Georgian: ლოცვა (locva)
• German: segnen (de), (obsolete) benedeien (de)
• Gothic: 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þiuþjan), 𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (audagjan)
• Greek: ευλογώ (el) (evlogó)

  Ancient: εὐλογέω (eulogéō), μακαρίζω (makarízō)

• Greenlandic: pilluaqquaa
• Haitian Creole: beni
• Hebrew: בירך \ בֵּרֵךְ \ בֵּרַךְ‎ (berákh)
• Hungarian: megáld (hu)
• Icelandic: blessa
• Ido: benedikar (io)
• Indonesian: berkat (id)
• Ingrian: siunata
• Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: benedire (it)
• Japanese: 恵む (ja) (めぐむ, megumu), 祝福する (ja) (しゅくふくする, shukufuku suru)
• Kabuverdianu: abensua, abênsua, bensuá
• Kazakh: жарылқау (jarylqau)
• Khmer: ប្រទានពរ (brâtéanpôr)
• Korean: 축복하다 (ko) (chukbokhada)
• Latin: benedīcō
• Latvian: svētīt
• Luxembourgish: seenen
• Macedonian: благословува impf (blagoslovuva), благослови pf (blagoslovi)
• Malayalam: അനുഗ്രഹിക്കുക (ml) (anugrahikkuka), ആശീർവദിക്കുക (ml) (āśīṟvadikkuka)
• Maltese: bierek
• Mongolian: адислах (mn) (adislax), өршөөх (mn) (öršööx)
• Norman: béni
• Northern Sami: buressivdnidit
• Norwegian: velsigne (no), signa, blessa
• Persian: برکت دادن‎ (barekat dâdan)
• Polish: błogosławić (pl) impf
• Portuguese: abençoar (pt), bendizer (pt), benzer (pt)
• Quechua: ch'allay
• Romanian: binecuvânta (ro), blagoslovi (ro)
• Romansch: benedir, banadir, banadeir
• Russian: благословля́ть (ru) impf (blagoslovljátʹ), благослови́ть (ru) pf (blagoslovítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: благосло̀вити pf

  Roman: blagoslòviti (sh) pf

• Slovak: žehnať impf, požehnať pf
• Slovene: blagosloviti (sl) pf
• Sorbian:

  Upper Sorbian: žohnować (hsb) impf, požohnować (hsb) pf

• Spanish: bendecir (es)
• Swedish: välsigna (sv)
• Telugu: దీవించు (te) (dīviñcu)
• Thai: อวยพร (uai-pɔɔn)
• Turkish: kutsamak (tr), takdis etmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: благословля́ти (uk) impf (blahoslovljáty), благослови́ти (uk) pf (blahoslovýty)
• Venetian: benedir (vec)
• Vietnamese: chúc phúc, giáng phúc (vi), ban phúc
• Welsh: bendithio (cy)
• Zazaki: teqdis kerden, mıbarek kerden

Etymology 2

An ellipsis for an expression such as bless your heart.

Interjection

bless

1. (UK, Canada, informal) Used as an expression of endearment, gratitude, or (ironically) belittlement.
   • 1998, Peter Coffey, “New Alternative View Of Atomic Structure”, in sci.chem (Usenet):

     Ah bless! You must be the welcoming committee for anyone who dares express ignorance.

   • 2000, Hellraiser, uk.people.teens (Usenet):

     oh bless. *hug* that is not true. nobody here bears a grudge against 13 year old dear or against you.

   • 2001, Will, “Am I still here?”, in uk.religion.pagan (Usenet):

     Aw bless... have white chocolate fudge muffin....a new batch.... made them last night after Nigella....

Anagrams

• ESBLs, slebs

Icelandic

Etymology

Presumably a clipping related to the greeting vertu blessaður (literally “be blessed”), compare English God bless.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɛs/

Interjection

bless

1. goodbye, bye

Synonyms

• vertu blessaður
• vertu bless
• bless bless
• bæ (informal)

Antonyms

• halló
• hæ (informal)

Related terms

• blessi þig (“bless you, gesundheit”)
• blessaður! (“greetings!”)
• sæll og blessaður! (“greetings!”)

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian,, from Proto-West Germanic *blōdisōn.

Verb

bless (simple past blessed)

1. to bless
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 14:

     Zo bless all oore frends, an God zpeed ee plowe.

     So bless all our friends, and God speed the plough.

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 90