# bless

Pronunciation: say "BLES" /blɛs/

## Verb

1. To call upon God to grant favor, protection, or care to someone or something.
   - Simple: To ask God to protect and care for someone.
   - _The bishop rose to bless the gathered worshippers._
   - _Before the voyage, the crew gathered to have the chaplain bless the ship._
2. To make something holy by means of a religious rite; to sanctify it.
   - Simple: To make a thing holy through a religious ceremony.
   - _The abbot blessed the newly built chapel before its first mass._
   - _Clergy bless the oils used in the sacraments each year._
3. To formally approve of something or give consent to it.
   - Simple: To agree to something or allow it to happen.
   - _Management blessed the budget without a single change._
   - _The committee must bless any proposal before funding is released._
4. To trace the sign of the cross upon someone or something in order to sanctify it.
   - Simple: To make the sign of the cross over a person or thing to make it holy.
   - _The celebrant blessed the bread and wine with a slow sign of the cross._
   - _Worshippers knelt as the priest moved along the rail to bless them._
5. To honor someone or something as holy; to praise them highly for excellence.
   - Simple: To praise someone as holy or as truly great.
   - _Congregations blessed the Lord's name in song._
   - _Generations of pilgrims came to bless the holy mountain._
6. To regard someone as fortunate or happy; to consider them favored.
   - Simple: To think of someone as lucky and happy.
   - _The villagers blessed the couple as the luckiest pair in the valley._
   - _Future generations will bless those who planted these forests._
8. To give or send something to someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To give something to someone, often as a gift.
   - _The label blessed fans with a surprise album over the weekend._
   - _Bless me with your number and I'll text you the details._
9. To greet an elder by taking their hand and pressing it to one's forehead, or kissing it, as a sign of respect. *(Philippines)*
   - Simple: To greet an older person by taking their hand and touching it to your forehead to show respect.
   - _The grandchildren lined up to bless their lola one by one._
   - _He blessed his uncle's hand the moment he stepped through the door._
10. In Perl programming, to associate a reference with a package so that it behaves as an object.
   - Simple: In some computer programming, to link a piece of data to a type so it works like an object.
   - _You bless a reference into a package to create an object in Perl._
   - _The constructor blesses the hash reference into the class before returning it._

## Interjection

7. Said warmly to express affection or gratitude, or ironically to belittle someone gently. *(colloquial, Canada, UK)*
   - Simple: A warm word said to show love, thanks, or gentle teasing.
   - _Bless, the poor lad waited an hour in the rain for her._
   - _She thinks she can fix the car herself? Bless._

## Verb

11. To protect, defend, or keep someone safe from harm. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To keep someone safe from harm or danger.
   - _The amulet was thought to bless its wearer from sickness._
   - _Sailors prayed to be blessed from the wrath of the deep._
12. To wave or brandish something through the air. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To wave or swing something around in the air.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–6, 8–12** — From Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian ("to consecrate with blood"), tracing back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic *blōþą ("blood"), of uncertain origin, possibly from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to bloom". It is related to "bleed".
**Meaning 7** — A shortening of a fuller expression such as "bless your heart".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bless (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).