blessing

See also: Blessing

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛsɪŋ

Noun

blessing (plural blessings)

Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.
- 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XVII, page 28:
  Henceforth, wherever thou may’st roam,
  ⁠My blessing, like a line of light,
  ⁠Is on the waters day and night,
  And like a beacon guards thee home.
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.
Good fortune.
(paganism) A modern pagan ceremony.
The act of declaring or bestowing favor; approval.
We will not proceed without the executive director's blessing.
- 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:
  Jocasta had my blessing when she seduced you, you stuck-up piffler.
Something someone is glad of.
After two weeks of sun, last night's rainfall was a blessing.
A prayer before a meal; grace.
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

curse

Derived terms

Translations

divine or supernatural aid or reward

Albanian: bekim (sq) m
Arabic: بَرَكَة (ar) f (baraka), نِعْمَة f (niʕma)
Armenian: օրհնություն (hy) (ōrhnutʻyun)
Aromanian: urãciuni
Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬌 (aṣ̌i)
Azerbaijani: bərəkət (az)
Belarusian: блаславе́нне n (blaslavjénnje), благаславе́нне n (blahaslavjénnje)
Bengali: বরকত (bn) (borkot), নেয়ামত (bn) (neẏamot), আশীর্বাদ (bn) (aśirbad)
Bulgarian: благослови́я f (blagoslovíja)
Catalan: benedicció f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 祝福 (zh) (zhùfú)
Czech: požehnání (cs) n
Danish: velsignelse c
Dutch: zegen (nl) f
Esperanto: beno
Finnish: siunaus (fi)
French: bénédiction (fr) f, grâce (fr) f
Galician: beizón m, bendición (gl) f
Georgian: კურთხევა (ḳurtxeva)
German: Segen (de) m, Segnung (de) f
Gothic: 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌸𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 f (þiuþeins)
Gujarati: આશીર્વાદ (gu) n (āśīrvād)
Hausa: albarka
Hebrew: בְּרָכָה (he) f (b'rakhá)
Hindi: आशीर्वाद (hi) m (āśīrvād)
Hungarian: áldás (hu)
Irish: beannacht f
Italian: benedizione (it)
Japanese: 祝福 (ja) (しゅくふく, shukufuku)
Kapampangan: kalam
Kazakh: алғыс (alğys), бата (kk) (bata)
Korean: 축복 (ko) (chukbok)
Kyrgyz: бата (ky) (bata), алкыш (ky) (alkış)
Latin: benedictiō f
Macedonian: благослов m (blagoslov)
Maltese: barka f
Manx: bannaght f
Marathi: आशीर्वाद (mr) m (āśīrvād)
Middle English: benysoun
Ngazidja Comorian: ɓaraka class 9/10
Norman: bénédiction f (Jersey)
Oromo: eebba
Ottoman Turkish: بركت (bereket), دعا (duʼâ)
Persian: موهبت (fa) (mohebat), برکت (fa) (barekat)
Plautdietsch: Säajen m
Polish: błogosławieństwo (pl) n
Portuguese: bênção (pt) f
Romanian: binecuvântare (ro) f, benedicțiune (ro) f
Russian: благослове́ние (ru) n (blagoslovénije), ми́лость (ru) f (mílostʹ)
Scottish Gaelic: beannachd f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бла̏госло̄в m

Roman: blȁgoslōv (sh) m
Sidamo: maasso
Slovak: požehnanie n
Slovene: blagoslov (sl)
Southern Altai: алкыш (alkïš)
Spanish: bendición (es) f
Swahili: baraka (sw)
Swedish: välsignelse (sv) c
Tagalog: biyaya
Tajik: баракат (barakat), фотиҳа (fotiha)
Tatar: бәрәкәт (tt) (bäräkät)
Turkish: bereket (tr)
Ukrainian: благослове́ння (uk) n (blahoslovénnja), благослові́ння n (blahoslovínnja), благослове́нство (uk) n (blahoslovénstvo)
Urdu: برکت f (barkat), نعمت f (nēmat)
Welsh: bendith (cy) f
West Frisian: segen c
Yiddish: ברכה f (brokhe)

pronouncement invoking divine aid

Bulgarian: благослови́я f (blagoslovíja)
Czech: požehnání (cs) n, žehnání (cs) n
Danish: velsignelse c
Dutch: (in)zegening f
Esperanto: beno
Finnish: siunaus (fi)
Galician: beizón m
German: Segnen
Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌵𐌹𐍃𐍃 f (wailaqiss)
Hungarian: áldás (hu)
Irish: beannacht f
Italian: benedizione (it)
Latin: benedictiō f
Manx: bannaght f
Middle English: benysoun
Ottoman Turkish: دعا (duʼâ)
Papiamentu: bendishon
Plautdietsch: Säajen m
Polish: błogosławieństwo (pl) n
Portuguese: bênção (pt) f
Russian: благослове́ние (ru) n (blagoslovénije)
Scottish Gaelic: beannachd f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бла̏госло̄в m

Roman: blȁgoslōv (sh) m
Swedish: välsignelse (sv) c
Ukrainian: благослові́ння n (blahoslovínnja)
Welsh: bendith (cy) f

good fortune

Arabic: نِعْمَة f (niʕma)
Bengali: নেয়ামত (bn) (neẏamot), বর (bn) (bor)
Bulgarian: благодат (bg) m (blagodat)
Czech: požehnání (cs) n
Dutch: zegen (nl) f
Finnish: onni (fi), tuuri (fi)
German: Segen (de) m, Segnung (de) f
Irish: beannacht f
Persian: نعمت (fa) (ne'mat)
Plautdietsch: Säajen m
Polish: błogosławieństwo (pl) n
Russian: благода́ть (ru) f (blagodátʹ)
Sanskrit: वर (sa) m (vara)
Scottish Gaelic: beannachd f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бла̏госло̄в m

Roman: blȁgoslōv (sh) m
Swahili: baraka (sw)
Tatar: бәхет (tt) (bäxet), уңыш (tt) (uñış)
Turkish: talih (tr), baht (tr)
Welsh: rhad (cy) m

(paganism) modern pagan ceremony

Dutch: zegening (nl) f
Scottish Gaelic: beannachd f

act of declaring, seeking or bestowing favor

Dutch: zegenen (nl) n
Finnish: siunaus (fi)
French: bénédiction (fr) f
German: Segnen n, Segnung (de) f, Segenserteilung f, Segen (de) m
Greek: ευλογία (el) f (evlogía)
Irish: beannacht f
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: خێر (xêr)
Norman: bénédiction f (Jersey)
Polish: błogosławieństwo (pl) n
Portuguese: bênção (pt) f, benzimento m, bendição (pt) f
Russian: благослове́ние (ru) n (blagoslovénije), моли́тва (ru) f (molítva)
Scottish Gaelic: beannachd f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бла̏госло̄в m

Roman: blȁgoslōv (sh) m
Swahili: baraka (sw)

thing one is glad of

Arabic: نِعْمَة f (niʕma)
Bengali: নেয়ামত (bn) (neẏamot)
Finnish: ilonaihe
French: bénédiction (fr) f
German: Segen (de) m
Irish: beannacht f
Norman: bénédiction f (Jersey)
Polish: błogosławieństwo (pl) n
Portuguese: bênção (pt) f
Scottish Gaelic: beannachd f

prayer before a meal — see grace

group of unicorns

French: troupeau (fr) m, harde (fr) f, horde (fr) f, groupe (fr) m
Swedish: hjord (sv) c

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

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} beno
Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} ברכה (he) f (brakha)
Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} berkah (id), ^{(please verify)} berkat (id)
Malayalam: ^{(please verify)} അനുഗ്രഹം (ml) (anugrahaṁ)
Romanian: ^{(please verify)} binecuvântare (ro) f
Telugu: ^{(please verify)} వరము (te) (varamu), ^{(please verify)} దీవెన (te) (dīvena)

Verb

blessing

present participle and gerund of bless

Anagrams

glibness