Where does “bless” come from?
Bless traces from Old English bletsian through Proto-West Germanic blōdisōn and Proto-Germanic blōþą, ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root bʰel-.
bless (English): To make something holy by religious rite,...
Definitions
- To make something holy by religious rite,...
Ancestry of “bless”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | blessen | To bless or sanctify grant divine favour to |
| 2 | Old English | blētsian | to bless, to consecrate |
| 3 | Old English | blēdsian | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | blōdisōn | to mark with blood |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | blōþą | blood |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |