Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “belief” come from?

Belief comes from Old English leafa, from Proto-West Germanic laubu, from Proto-Germanic laubō, from Proto-Indo-European lewbʰ-, of unknown original meaning.

belief (English): Mental acceptance of a claim as true; Faith or...

Definitions

  1. Mental acceptance of a claim as true; Faith or...

Ancestry of “belief”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbileve—
2Old Englishlēafa—
3Proto-West Germaniclaubupermission
4Proto-Germaniclaubōpermission
5Proto-Indo-Europeanlewbʰ-to desire, covet, want; to admire, praise; to...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanlēw-to sound, resound, sing out; to leave

Words derived from “belief”

  • disbelief
  • misbelief
  • nonbelief
  • metabelief
  • beliefless
  • belieflike
  • self-belief
  • forebelief
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lēw- →