blest

1. 1
   adjectivearchaic

   Archaic spelling of blessed.

   The blest saints watched over the village from their painted niches.

   I hold myself supremely blest—blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband’s life as fully as he is mine.

   1847, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Conclusion”

   Note

   The adjective once compared itself directly. Richard F. Burton's 1884 translation climbs from blest to blester to blestest in three lines, and Henry Scott Riddell in 1831 writes of a heart that had the blestest been of all. The standard comparison is more blest and most blest. It often follows verbs of self-judgment, as in Shakespeare's count her blest or Charlotte Brontë's I hold myself supremely blest in Jane Eyre.

2. 2
   verbarchaic

   Archaic spelling of blessed.

   The bishop blest the harvest before the villagers sat down to feast.

   Cradled by majestic mountains Blest with nature's flowing fountains

   Can we date this quote?, Juanita Madarang, “Cordillera Hymn”

   Note

   One short spelling serves as both the simple past and the past participle of bless. The bishop blest the harvest, and the harvest was blest. Juanita Madarang's "Cordillera Hymn" uses the passive with with: mountains blest with nature's flowing fountains. The same spelling also works as the adjective meaning 'favored', so context tells you whether an action or a state is meant.

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