Wordwyrt

believe

/bɪˈliv/bih-LEEV
/bɪˈliv/bih-LEEV

Meaninghave faith in

Common meaning: accept as true

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishgeléfan‘have faith in’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishbelevesource
  3. Englishmeaning shiftshave faith in → accept as truebelieve‘accept as true’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English geléfan ‘have faith in’.

Roots

  • geléfan Old English “have faith in”

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