Forms: 1 blóedsian, blédsian, blétsian, 2 bletsien, bletcæn, blecen, bleccen, 2–3 bledsen, bletsen, (Orm.) blettcenn, blettsenn, 2–4 blescen, 2–5 blessen, 3 bletseiȝen, blesci, blicen, 3–4 blixen, blissen, 4 blisce, blis, blist, 3–7 blesse, bliss(e, 5 blysch(e, blyssh(e, 5–6 blysse, 7– bless. Pa. t. and pple. blessed, blest (arch. and poet.); in 1 blédsod, blétsod, 2–3 bledsed, 2–5 bletsed, blecced, blesced, blisced, 2– blessed, 5– blest. [OE. blóedsian, blédsian, blétsian: not found elsewhere in Teutonic, but formed on the OTeut. type *blôdisôjan, f. *blôdo-m (OE. blód) blood: cf. OE. mildsian, miltsian, ME. MILCE, to be mild, show pity; also, for the formation, OE. rícsian to rule = OHG. rîchisôn:—OTeut. *rîkisôjan, f. *rîk-s, Goth. reiks ruler, king. (An equally satisfactory derivation of blétsian, if it were the original form, would be from blót sacrifice, on OTeut. type *blôtisôjan; but besides that blóedsian actually occurs earlier, the change of ds to ts is phonetically natural, while the reverse is not.) The etymological meaning was thus ‘to mark (or affect in some way) with blood (or sacrifice); to consecrate.’ But the sense-development of the word was greatly influenced by its having been chosen at the Eng. conversion to render L. benedīcere, and Gr. εὐλογεῖν, which started from a primitive sense of ‘speak well of or to, eulogize, praise,’ but were themselves influenced by being chosen to translate Heb. [Hebrew], primarily ‘to bend,’ hence ‘to bend the knee, worship, praise, bless God, invoke blessings on, bless as a deity.’ Hence, a long and varied series of associations, heathen, Jewish, and Christian, blend in the Eng. uses of bless and blessing. Senses 4–6 arise mainly from benedīcere, εὐλογεῖν. At a very early date the popular etymological consciousness began to associate this verb with the sb. BLISS ‘benignity, blitheness, joy, happiness,’ which affected the use of both words (see esp. senses 7, 8), and led to occasional ME. spelling of the vb. with i, y.
The pa. t. and pple. are now generally spelt blessed, though always pronounced (blest) in modern prose; the pple. may be pronounced (ble·sèd) in verse, or liturgical reading. As an adj. blessed (ble·séd) is now the regular prose form, but the archaic blest is frequent in verse, and traditional phrases as e.g., ‘the Isles of the Blest.’]
Orig. meaning (prob.), To make ‘sacred’ or ‘holy’ with blood; to consecrate by some sacrificial rite which was held to render a thing inviolable from profane use of men and evil influence of men or demons. (The streaking of the lintel and door-posts with blood, Exod. xii. 23, to mark them as holy to the Lord and inviolable by the destroying angel, was apparently the kind of idea expressed by blóedsian in pre-christian times. Cf. also the history of the Latin words consecrāre and sacrificium.) Hence, in historical use:
I. To make sacred, consecrate, hallow.
1. trans. To consecrate (a thing) by a religious rite, the utterance of a formula or charm; in later times by a prayer committing it to God for his patronage, defence, and prospering care, as in to bless food, to ask God’s blessing on it (cf. 5).
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxvi. 26. Se Hælend nam hlaf and hyne bletsode and brǽc.
c. 1200. Ormin, 17193. Þatt waterr þatt iss att te funnt Blettcedd wiþþ Godes wordess.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XI. 229. Tyl he blessed and brak þe bred þat þei eten.
c. 1400. Apol. Loll., 30. If þe prest sacre Crist wan he blessiþ þe sacrament of God in þe auter.
a. 1593. H. Smith, Serm. (1637), 376. Before thou hast blessed it with prayer, thou hast no promise it shall prosper.
1596. Shaks., Merch. V., III. ii. 79. In Religion, What damned error, but some sober brow Will blesse it, and approue it with a text.
1637. Gillespie, Eng.-Pop. Cerem., IV. iv. 20. It was behoofefull for their cause, distinctly and severally to blisse those Elements.
1649. Milton, Eikon., Wks. 1738, I. 427. Where the Master is too resty, or too rich to … bless his own Table.
1798. Southey, Bp. Bruno, Wks. VI. 149. And now the bishop had blest the meat.
† b. To consecrate (a person) to a sacred office.
1154. O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.). Þa was he [Henry II.] to king bletcæd in Lundene.
c. 1420. Chron. Vilod., 563. And was blessud Abbas in þt same place. Ibid., 1168. Þen was Alfyne y blessud Abbas of þt plase.
2. spec. To sanctify or hallow by making the sign of the cross; usually as a defence against evil agencies. esp. refl. and absol. To cross oneself. arch.
c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., John viii. 48. Ahne bloedsade ue usic vel sæʓnade [mistransl. of nonne bene dicimus nos?]
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 290. Breid up þene rode stef, & sweng him aȝean a uour halue—þene helle dogge. Þet nis nout elles bute blesce þe al abuten mid te eadie rode tocne.
c. 1500. Yng. Children’s Bk., in Babees Bk. (1868), 17. Aryse be tyme oute of thi bedde, And blysse þi brest & thi forhede.
1562. J. Heywood, Prov. & Epigr. (1867), 91. I nother nod for sleepe … nor blisse for spirites.
1577. Holinshed, Chron., I. 157/2. Blesse your eies with the signe of the crosse, and trie whether you can see that I see.
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, I. xxxv. When they heard these words, some … blest themselves with both hands, thinking … that he had been a devil disguised.
1719. Lady M. W. Montague, Lett., II. xlvii. 47. I fancy I see you bless yourself at this terrible relation.
b. To bless oneself from: see 3 b.
† c. To bless into, out: to change into, cast out, by making the sign of the cross. Obs.
1534. More, Passion, Wks. (1557), 1273/1. When the dyuell fyrste casteth any proude vayne thoughte into our mynd … let vs forthwith make a crosse on our breast, and blesse it oute.
1589. Nashe, Pasquils Ret., Wks. 1885, I. 93. One Pope or other … blest me into a stone to stoppe my mouth.
d. Not to have a penny to bless oneself with: in allusion to the cross on the silver penny (cf. Ger. Kreuzer), or to the practice of crossing the palm with a piece of silver.
1557. North, trans. Gueuara’s Diall Pr. (1619), 625/2. The pestilence of penny … he hath in his purse to blesse himself with.
1562. J. Heywood, Prov. & Epigr. (1867), 73. He had not … one peny to blisse him.
1861. Geo. Eliot, Silas M. I have not a shilling to bless myself with.
† e. humorously (with allusion to holy water.)
1609. Man in the Moone, 11. Bless his beard with a bazen of water, least he burne it.
† 3. To protect or guard, save, keep from (evil): said of God, supernatural influence, a charm or prayer; also loosely of other things. Obs.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 59. From alle . uuele he scal blecen us.
1543. Becon, New Y. Gift, Wks. (1843), 315. With such I love not to meddle. God bless me from them!
1594. Nashe, Unfort. Trav., 43. Kisse the ground as holy ground which she vouchsafed to blesse from barrennes by her steppes.
1594. Shaks., Rich. III., III. iii. 5. God blesse the Prince from all the Pack of you.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., I. ii. 18. Glauncing down his shield from blame him fairly blest.
1632. Milton, Penseroso, 83. Or the bellmans drowsy charm To bless the doors from nightly harm.
1646. Fuller, Wounded Consc. (1841), 349. God bless you and yours from fire.
1650. Bp. Hall, Cases Consc., 181. Doubtlesse, the Devill is a most skilfull Artist … but God blesse us from imploying him.
1855. Kingsley, Westw. Ho! ii. (Traditional Spell) ‘Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on.’
† b. refl. To guard oneself (with God’s help) from, keep out of the way of, give a wide berth to, shun, eschew. (Sometimes, probably, by crossing oneself, as in sense 2.) Obs.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., III. xix. 411. If thilk doctor … hadde blessid him silf fro this … perel.
1530. Palsgr., 458/1. I wyll never medle with hym, if I may blesse me from hym.
1549. Chaloner, Erasm. Moriæ Enc., E iv b. Whiche of you woulde not lothe and blisse you from the company of suche maner a man.
1618. Raleigh, Rem. (1644), 97. From Suretieship, as from a Man-slayer, or Enchanter, blesse thy self.
1622. Fletcher, Span. Curate, I. i. 27. Blesse yourselves from the thought of him and her.
1651. More, Enthus. Triumph. (1656), 172. Bless thee from madness, Tom, and all will be well.
1753. Smollett, Ct. Fathom (1784), 137/2. He blessed himself from such customers.
II. To hold or call holy; to extol as holy (see Isa. vi. 3, Rev, iv. 8), divine, gracious.
4. To call holy; to extol, praise or adore (God) as holy, worthy of reverence.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Daniel 400 (Gr.). We ðec bletsiað, Fæder ælmihtiʓ.
c. 1000. Ags. Psalter xcv[i]. 2. Singað nu drihtne and his soðne naman bealde bletsiað.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 57. Þi nome beo iblecced.
c. 1305. Deo Gratias, in E. E. P. (1862), 125. To þonke and blesse hym we be bounde.
1382. Wyclif, Jas. iii. 9. In it we blessen God the fadir, and in it we cursen men.
1593. Hooker, Eccl. Pol., I. iii. § 4. The Creator … alone to be blessed, adored and honoured of all for ever.
1651. Hobbes, Leviath., II. xxxi. 189. The subject of Magnifying and Blessing, being Power.
1825. J. Montgomery, Hymn ‘Stand up and bless,’ 6. Stand up and bless the Lord, The Lord your God adore.
5. esp. with an added notion of thanksgiving or acknowledgement of gracious beneficence or goodness: To praise or extol with grateful heart; ‘to glorify for benefits received’ (J.)
a. orig. God or his attributes.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Luke i. 68. Gebletsod [Lindisf. ʓebloedsad] sí drihten israhela god, forþam þe he ʓeneosode.
1382. Wyclif, ibid. Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for … [Cranmer, Praysed be].
c. 1440. York Myst., xii. 217. Blest be þou ay, For þe grace þou has me lente.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 251. To laude and blesse god for his goodnes.
1596. Shaks., Tam. Shr., IV. v. 18. Then God be blesst, it is the blessed Sunne.
1795. Southey, Joan of Arc, II. 309. I … blest my God I was not such as he.
1843. Neale, Hymns for Sick, 44. But Thy Love—Oh give me grace to bless It every hour!
b. other influences, e.g., one’s stars, one’s fortune or luck, the day of one’s birth, etc. Now generally in a more or less ludicrous sense: To thank, attribute one’s good fortune to.
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 3344. Folk … blissed the time that he was born.
a. 1845. Hood, Pauper’s Christmas Carol, iii. Ought not I to bless my stars?
1846. Punch, IX. 13. Let me bless my prudence.
c. persons: see 6 b, which sometimes passes into ‘praise or extol with grateful regard.’
III. To declare to be supernaturally favored; to pronounce or make happy.
6. To pronounce words that confer (or are held to confer) supernatural favor and well-being.
a. Said of a superior, i.e., of one entitled to speak in God’s name, a priest or sacred person (e.g., Balaam, Moses), an aged or dying parent (e.g., Isaac, Jacob); also of God himself. When said of men, the sense has passed into that of officially or paternally commending to divine protection and favor.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Gen. xxvii. 4. Bring me þæt ic ete, and ic þe bletsiʓe ær þam þe ic swelte.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Mark x. 16. Ða beclypte he hí, and his handa ofer hi settende bletsode [Lindisf. ʓebledsade, Rushw. ʓibletsade, Hatton bletsede] hi.
c. 1205. Lay., 32157. Me and mine wiue; he scal bletseiȝen & scriue.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 637. God ham blesset and bad ham brede, and multiply.
c. 1383. Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 323. Þei cursen hem þat God blisseþ. Ibid. (1388), Numb. xxiii. 11. What is this that thou doist? Y clepide thee that thou schuldist curse myn enemyes, and aȝenward thou blessist hem [1382 blessest to hem].
c. 1410. Love, Bonavent. Mirr., xv. 38 (Gibbs MS.). After he hadde i blessed hem wente vppe aȝayne to heuene.
1549. Bk. Com. Prayer, Confirm., Then shal the Busshop blisse the children, thus saying.
1810. Scott, Lady of L., III. vii. Stood prompt to bless or ban.
b. Of one not a superior: Piously to invoke God’s blessing upon, to commend gratefully and affectionately to God’s favor, to load with one’s devout good wishes; to speak well of and wish well to.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 97. I blisse Anselme þerfore.
c. 1330. Amis & Amil., 344. Men blisted him, bothe bon and blod, That euer him gat and bare.
1613. Shaks., Hen. VIII., III. i. 54. To taint that honor euery good Tongue blesses.
1667. Milton, P. L., X. 821. So disinherited how would ye bless Me now your Curse!
1712. Steele, Spect., No. 264, ¶ 1. The Fatherless … and the Stranger bless his unseen Hand in their Prayers.
1742. W. Collins, Ode, vi. By all their country’s wishes blest.
1850. Tennyson, In Mem., cxix. I … think of early days and thee, And bless thee.
7. To confer well-being upon; ‘to make happy; to prosper, make successful’ (J.): orig. said of God; in later use also of men and things, but generally with an implication of their conferring instrumentally a divine blessing. (Here the association of bless with bliss becomes apparent.)
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen., 2357 (Gr.). Ic Ismael estum wille bletsian.
a. 1300. Hymn to God, 16, in Trin. Coll. Hom., App. 258. Louerd þu vs blesce.
1388. Wyclif, Gen. xxxix. 5. And the Lord blesside the hows [1382 to the hows] of Egipcian for Joseph.
1549. Bk. Com. Prayer, Matrim., Look, O Lord, mercifully upon them from heaven, and bless them.
1578. Gude & Godlie Ballates (1868), 65. Blis, blissit God, thir giftes gude Quhilk thow hes geuin to be our fude.
1596. Shaks., Merch. V., IV. i. 186. It [mercy] is twice blest, It blesseth him that giues, and him that takes. Ibid. (1597), 2 Hen. IV., I. ii. 248. Heauen blesse your Expedition.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., IV. 729. But she return’d no more, to bless his longing Eyes.
1718. Pope, Iliad, I. 144. When first her blooming beauties bless’d my arms.
1813. Byron, Giaour, 1115. I have possess’d, And come what may, I have been blest.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, xxxi. ‘God bless the meat,’ said the Major’s wife, solemnly.
1850. Lynch, Theo. Trin., v. 88. To say that good gives pleasure seems poor expression of the truth that it blesses us.
b. To make happy with some gift: orig. of God as the giver; also of persons or things. (In the first example, blitsian may be really = bliðsian, BLISS.)
[a. 831. Charter of Oswulf (Sweet, O. E. T., 444). Ðaette ʓe sien ʓeblitsude mid ðem weorldcundum godum.]
1598. B. Jonson, Ev. Man out of Hum., II. iii. Shee was blest with no more copie of wit.
1602. Return fr. Parnass., II. v. (Arb.), 30. I will blesse your eares with a very pretty story.
1610. Shaks., Temp., II. i. 124. You may thank your selfe … That would not blesse our Europe with your daughter.
1650. Baxter, Saint’s R., III. (1654), 4. Return him hearty thanks upon my knees, that ever he blessed his Word in my mouth with such … success.
1712. Arbuthnot, John Bull (1755), 30. Mrs. Bull … blessed John with three daughters.
1767. Fordyce, Serm. Yng. Wom., I. i. 14. Are you … blest with parents?
1839. Bailey, Festus, i. To bless him with salvation.
8. refl. To account or call oneself supremely happy; to congratulate or felicitate oneself, with, in, that.
1611. Bible, Jer. iv. 2. The nations shall blesse themselues in him, and in him shall they glorie.
1674. N. Fairfax, Bulk & Selv., To Rdr. I … blisst my self that I was there.
1684. Bunyan, Pilgr., II. (1879), 246. Old men have blessed themselves with this mistake.
1839. Bailey, Festus, iv. To … bask, and bless myself, Upon the broad bright bosom.
¶ In ME., and above all by Wyclif, bless was construed with to, app. in imitation of benedicere alicui of the Vulgate.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 17890. To oure lord iesu crist ȝe blisse.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. II. 249. Cristene men shulden blesse to oþer þat pursuen hem here. Ibid. (1382), Gen. i. 21. And God … blisside to hem, seiynge, Growith, [etc.]. Ibid., xii. 3. I shal blis to thoo that blissen thee.
IV. Exclamatory, elliptical and ironical uses.
9. In exclamatory invocations and ejaculations of surprise; a. in sense 3, as God bless me! elliptically bless me! bless (also save) the mark! (see MARK). b. in sense 7, as (God) bless you!
a. 1590. Shaks., Mids. N., IV. ii. 14. A Paramour is (God blesse vs) a thing of nought.
1646. Milton, Sonn., xi. 5. Cries the stall-reader, ‘Bless us! what a word on A title-page is this!’
1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 25, ¶ 10. Bless me! Sir, there’s no Room for a Question.
1752. Mrs. Lennox, Fem. Quix., I. III. v. 161. ‘Lord bless me, madam!’ said Lucy, excessively astonished.
1844. Dickens, Mart. Chuz., v. 50. ‘Bless my life!’ said Mr. Pecksniff, looking up. Ibid. (1849), Dav. Copp., xii. 138. ‘Bless and save the man’ … ‘how he talks!’
1851. Ruskin, King Gold. Riv., i. (1856), 12. ‘Bless my soul!’ said Schwartz when he opened the door.
b. 1588. Shaks., L. L. L., II. i. 77. God blesse my Ladies, are they all in loue?
1732. Fielding, Miser, V. i. (1775), 67. Bless her heart! good lady!
1840. Marryat, Poor Jack, xxix. Bless you, my child, bless you!
1872. Ruskin, Fors Clav., II. xx. 8. The Colonel might have said ‘Bless you, my children,’ in the tenderest tones.
10. Hence, To bless oneself: to ejaculate ‘God bless me!’ or other exclamation of surprise, vexation or mortification.
1615. T. Adams, Blacke Devill, 71. He … would blesse himselfe to think that so little a thing could extend itself to such a capacity.
1665. Pepys, Diary, 1 April. How my Lord Treasurer did bless himself, crying he could do no more, [etc.].
¶ 11. In many senses (esp. 5 b, 7, 8, 9, 10) bless is used euphemistically or ironically for a word of opposite meaning, ‘curse, damn,’ etc.
1812. Miss Austen, Mansf. Park, xviii. Could Sir Thomas look in upon us just now, he would bless himself.
1838. Dickens, O. Twist, xiii. An emphatic and earnest desire to be ‘blessed’ if she would.
1878. H. Smart, Play or Pay, viii. (ed. 3), 156. Fuming, blessing himself, dashing himself.
V. Comb., as † bless-beggar, a thing to bless a beggar with. (ironical.)
1589. R. Harvey, Pl. Perc. (1860), 33. My quarter staffe, is it not a blesse-begger thinke you?
