Bless word meaning and definition

[verb] give a benediction to; "The dying man blessed his son"
[verb] render holy by means of religious rites
[verb] make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate
[verb] confer prosperity or happiness on

\Bless\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Blessed}or {Blest}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Blessing}.] [OE. blessien, bletsen, AS. bletsian, bledsian, bloedsian, fr. bl?d blood; prob. originally to consecrate by sprinkling with blood. See {Blood}.] 1. To make or pronounce holy; to consecrate And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. --Gen. ii. 3. 2. To make happy, blithesome, or joyous; to confer prosperity or happiness upon; to grant divine favor to. The quality of mercy is . . . twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. --Shak. It hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee. --1 Chron. xvii. 27 (R. V. ) 3. To express a wish or prayer for the happiness of; to invoke a blessing upon; -- applied to persons. Bless them which persecute you. --Rom. xii. 14. 4. To invoke or confer beneficial attributes or qualities upon; to invoke or confer a blessing on, -- as on food. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. --Luke ix. 16. 5. To make the sign of the cross upon; to cross (one's self). [Archaic] --Holinshed. 6. To guard; to keep; to protect. [Obs.] 7. To praise, or glorify; to extol for excellences. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. --Ps. ciii. 1. 8. To esteem or account happy; to felicitate. The nations shall bless themselves in him. --Jer. iv. 3. 9. To wave; to brandish. [Obs.] And burning blades about their heads do bless. --Spenser. Round his armed head his trenchant blade he blest. --Fairfax. Note: This is an old sense of the word, supposed by Johnson, Nares, and others, to have been derived from the old rite of blessing a field by directing the hands to all parts of it. ``In drawing [their bow] some fetch such a compass as though they would turn about and bless all the field.'' --Ascham. {Bless me!} {Bless us!} an exclamation of surprise. --Milton. {To bless from}, to secure, defend, or preserve from. ``Bless me from marrying a usurer.'' --Shak. To bless the doors from nightly harm. --Milton. {To bless with}, {To be blessed with}, to favor or endow with; to be favored or endowed with; as, God blesses us with health; we are blessed with happiness.

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