belief English · revision 5040

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1175|origins=ang ġelēafa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɪˈliːf/, /bəˈliːf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bileave]], [[inh|ang|ġelēafa|alt=geleafa|t=belief, faith]], with be- put for ge- on the model of the verb belīfan “to believe”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The Old English word is from West Germanic *ga-laubōn “to hold dear, trust”,^(Etymonline) the source also of German Glaube,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*lewbʰ-|alt=*leubh-|t=to care, desire, love]].^(Etymonline) The final -f was set apart from the -v- of [[believe]] in the 15th century, like grief and grieve.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Trust or confidence in a person or thing, faith in a religion: about 1175 in the OED, the late 12th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A creed, the doctrines of a religion, is from about 1175 in the OED, about 1200 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Acceptance that a statement is true, without full knowledge, is from the 1530s (1533 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the general sense “something believed” is by 1714.^(Etymonline) Belief once meant trust in God, while faith meant loyalty based on a promise or duty.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1175 – trust, faith.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1175 – a creed.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1533 – acceptance as true.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1714 – that which is believed.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The feeling that something is true or exists.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Trust or confidence in someone or something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that is believed, such as a principle of a religion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An [[opinion]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[disbelief]]

+ * [[unbelief]]

+ * [[misbelief]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[believe]]

+ * [[lief]]

+ * [[love]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Belief, credence, credit and faith all mean accepting something as true, but faith often implies certainty even without evidence, while credence and credit stress acceptance on the strength of evidence or authority.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}