bless
(redirected from blesses)Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.
bless
(blĕs)tr.v. blessed or blest (blĕst), bless·ing, bless·es
Idiom: 1. To make holy by religious rite; sanctify: The clergy blessed the site for the new monastery.
2. To invoke divine favor upon: The bishop blessed the fishing fleet.
3. To make the sign of the cross over: She knelt and blessed herself.
4. To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord.
5. To confer well-being or prosperity on: They were blessed with a baby girl.
6. To endow, as with talent: He was blessed with a photographic memory.
bless you
Used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed.
[Middle English blessen, from Old English blētsian, to consecrate; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.]
bless′er n.
Word History: The verb bless comes from Old English blœ̄dsian, blēdsian, blētsian, "to bless, wish happiness, consecrate." Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *blōdan, "blood." Blœ̄dsian therefore originally meant "to consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood." In many cultures, the blood of a sacrificed animal is thought to hallow and bring blessings upon the people and places that it touches. In the Biblical book of Exodus, for example, God punishes the Egyptians by killing the first-born son in every family, but the Israelites are able to protect their own houses from divine wrath by sprinkling the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their lintels and doorposts. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, the early Germanic migrants to Britain, would have originally used the verb blœ̄dsian for the consecrations effected by their own pagan sacrifices. After they converted to Christianity, however, blœ̄dsian acquired new meanings when it was used to translate the verb benedīcere, "to bless" in the Latin Bible.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bless
(blɛs)vb (tr) , blesses, blessing, blessed or blest
1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) to consecrate or render holy, beneficial, or prosperous by means of a religious rite
2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) to give honour or glory to (a person or thing) as divine or holy
3. to call upon God to protect; give a benediction to
4. (Ecclesiastical Terms) to worship or adore (God); call or hold holy
5. (often passive) to grant happiness, health, or prosperity to: they were blessed with perfect peace.
6. (usually passive) to endow with a talent, beauty, etc: she was blessed with an even temper.
7. rare to protect against evil or harm
8. bless! (interjection) an exclamation of well-wishing
9. bless you! (interjection)
a. a traditional phrase said to a person who has just sneezed
b. an exclamation of well-wishing or surprise
10. bless me! bless my soul! God bless my soul! (interjection) an exclamation of surprise
11. not have a penny to bless oneself with to be desperately poor
[Old English blǣdsian to sprinkle with sacrificial blood; related to blōd blood]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
bless
(blɛs)v.t. blessed blest, bless•ing.
1. to consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite; make or pronounce holy.
2. to request God's divine favor upon or for: Bless this house.
3. to bestow some benefit upon; endow: Nature blessed me with strong teeth.
4. to extol as holy; glorify: Bless the name of the Lord.
5. to protect or guard from evil (usu. used interjectionally): Bless you!
6. to make the sign of the cross over or upon.
[before 950; Middle English; Old English blētsian, blēdsian to consecrate]
bless′er, n.
bless′ing•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
bless
Past participle: blessed
Gerund: blessing
| Imperative |
|---|
| bless |
| bless |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. |  bless - give a benediction to; "The dying man blessed his son"anele, embrocate, inunct, oil, anoint - administer an oil or ointment to ; often in a religious ceremony of blessing bring up, call down, conjure, conjure up, invoke, call forth, put forward, arouse, evoke, stir, raise - summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "call down the spirits from the mountain" anathemise, anathemize, bedamn, beshrew, damn, imprecate, maledict, curse - wish harm upon; invoke evil upon; "The bad witch cursed the child" |
| 2. |  bless - confer prosperity or happiness on | |
| 3. |  bless - make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrategesticulate, gesture, motion - show, express or direct through movement; "He gestured his desire to leave" | |
| 4. |  bless - render holy by means of religious ritesreconsecrate - consecrate anew, as after a desecration declare - state emphatically and authoritatively; "He declared that he needed more money to carry out the task he was charged with" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
bless
verb
1. sanctify, dedicate, ordain, exalt, anoint, consecrate, hallow, invoke happiness on Bless this couple and their loving commitment to one another.
sanctify damn, curse, excommunicate, execrate, imprecate, anathematize
sanctify damn, curse, excommunicate, execrate, imprecate, anathematize
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
bless
verbTo make sacred by a religious rite:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
باركيُبارِكيُبارِكُ
požehnatžehnat
velsignesigne
beni
siunata
blagosloviti
megáldáld
blessablessa, biîja blessunar
恵む祝福する
축복하다
laimėlaimintimalda prieš ir/arba po valgiopalaimapalaimingai
laimesvētībasvētīt
požehnaťžehnať
blagoslovitiobdarjen
välsigna
อวยพร
kutsamaktakdis etmek
cầu nguyện
bless
[bles] VT1. [God, priest] → bendecir
God bless you! → ¡Dios te bendiga!
God bless the Pope! → ¡Dios guarde al Papa!
bless you! → ¡qué cielo eres!; (after sneezing) → ¡Jesús!
and Paul, bless him or bless his heart, had no idea that → y Paul, el pobre, no tenía ni idea de que ...
to bless o.s → santiguarse
God bless you! → ¡Dios te bendiga!
God bless the Pope! → ¡Dios guarde al Papa!
bless you! → ¡qué cielo eres!; (after sneezing) → ¡Jesús!
and Paul, bless him or bless his heart, had no idea that → y Paul, el pobre, no tenía ni idea de que ...
to bless o.s → santiguarse
2. (fig) they were never blessed with children → Dios jamás les dio la bendición de los hijos
she is blessed with every virtue → la adornan mil virtudes
I bless the day I bought it → bendigo el día que lo compré
well I'm blessed!; God bless my soul! (o.f.) → ¡vaya por Dios!
I'm blessed if I know (Brit) → no tengo ni idea
she is blessed with every virtue → la adornan mil virtudes
I bless the day I bought it → bendigo el día que lo compré
well I'm blessed!; God bless my soul! (o.f.) → ¡vaya por Dios!
I'm blessed if I know (Brit) → no tengo ni idea
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
bless
[ˈblɛs] [blessed or blest] (pt, pp) vt [priest] → bénir
bless you! (after sneeze) → à tes souhaits!; (when thanking) → merci mille fois!, tu es un ange!
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
bless
vt
(God, priest) → segnen; God bless (you) → behüt dich/euch Gott; God bless America → Gott schütze Amerika; bless you, my son → Gott segne dich, mein Sohn; did you buy that for me, bless you? (inf) → hast du das für mich gekauft? das ist aber lieb von dir! (inf); bless you, darling, you’re an angel (inf) → du bist wirklich lieb, du bist ein Engel (inf); bless your little cotton socks (inf) → du bist ja ein Schatz (inf); bless you! (to sneezer) → Gesundheit!; bless me! (inf) bless my soul! (inf) → du meine Güte! (inf); he’s lost it again, bless him (iro) → prima, er hat es wieder mal verloren! (iro); I’ll be blessed or blest if I’m going to do that! (inf) → das fällt mir ja nicht im Traum ein! (inf); well, I’ll be blessed! (inf) → so was!
(Eccl, = adore) → preisen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
bless
[blɛs] vt → benedireGod bless the queen! → Dio benedica la regina!
bless you! → sei un angelo! (after sneezing) → salute!
I'm blessed if I know! (fam) → non ne so un accidente!
bless my soul! → santo cielo!
to be blessed with → godere di
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
bless
(bles) – past tense blessed: past participles blessed ~blest – to ask God to show favour to. Bless this ship.
blessed (ˈblesid) adjective holy. the Blessed Virgin.
ˈblessedly (-sid-) adverbˈblessedness (-sid-) noun
ˈblessing noun
1. a wish or prayer for happiness or success. The priest gave them his blessing.
2. any cause of happiness. Her son was a great blessing to her.
3. a prayer of thanks to God before and/or after a meal.
a blessing in disguise something that has proved to be fortunate after seeming unfortunate.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
bless
→ يُبارِكُ požehnat velsigne segnen ευλογώ bendecir siunata bénir blagosloviti benedire 祝福する 축복하다 zegenen velsigne pobłogosławić abençoar благословлять välsigna อวยพร kutsamak cầu nguyện 保佑Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009