blessing

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Blessing

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle English blessinge, blessynge, from Old English blētsung, blēdsung (a blessing), equivalent to bless +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛsɪŋ

Noun

[edit]

blessing (plural blessings)

  1. Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.
  2. A pronouncement invoking divine aid.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
  3. Good fortune.
  4. (paganism) A modern pagan ceremony.
  5. The act of declaring or bestowing favor; approval.
    We will not proceed without the executive director's blessing.
  6. Something someone is glad of.
    After two weeks of sun, last night's rainfall was a blessing.
  7. A prayer before a meal; grace.
  8. A group of unicorns.
    • 2008 September 11, Betsy Schiffman, “Time To Trash the Intellectual Property System, Says Report”, in Wired:
      And since we’re laying out our wishes, we’d also like a blessing of unicorns and one million dollars.
    • 2009, Andrew Orlowski, "Facebook music dashboard: Revenue at last?", The Register, 13 September 2011:
      Then a blessing of unicorns charged into the studio, and I was carried away to be re-educated.
    • 2011, Suzette Mayr, Monoceros, Coach House Books, published 2011, →ISBN, page 94:
      She just wants to talk to her friends on www.unicornwillsaveus.com or write in her journal or flump on her bedroom floor with her blessing of unicorns: her posters, figurines, stickers, temporary tattoos of anatomically correct unicorns.

Antonyms

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

[edit]

blessing

  1. present participle and gerund of bless

Anagrams

[edit]