Bless

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /blɛs/

Definitions

1. To invoke divine favor, protection, or approval upon someone or something through prayer or sacred words
2. To invoke goodwill, fortunate outcomes, or divine protection for a person or situation through sacred speech or rituals
3. To confer divine favor, kindness, or protection upon an individual or entity through the use of spiritual expression or sacred acts

Etymology: The most striking fact about "bless" is that it originally meant to smear something with blood. Old English "bletsian" meant "to consecrate with blood," and it was tied to pagan and early Christian rites in which altars, objects and people were marked with sacrificial blood. The word's ancestor, a Germanic root for blood, shows up in Old Norse "bleza" and in the Old English "blēdan," meaning "to bleed," so the sacred and the bloody were once one family of words. Over the centuries the sense moved from the literal act of sprinkling blood to the more general idea of making something holy through a formal utterance. Christian usage then turned "bless" into the ordinary word for invoking God's favour, and from there it spread to wishes for someone's welfare, as when a person is said to be blessed with good fortune. A later, casual use survives in the phrase "bless your heart," which is an abbreviated expression that has come to carry a mix of sympathy and gentle condescension.

Synonyms: sanctify, consecrate, invoke, hallow, grace

Antonyms: curse, damn, blaspheme, denounce, revile