Etymograph

English

bless

Bless comes from Middle English blessen ‘to ecclesiastically sanction or sanctify’, from Old English bletsian ‘to consecrate (with blood)’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘to bloom’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-1‘to bloom’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōþą1‘blood’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blōdisōn1‘to sprinkle, mark or hallow with blood’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150bletsian1‘to consecrate (with blood)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blessen1‘to ecclesiastically sanction or sanctify’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1577bless1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bless
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England: “the archbishop vsing certeine praiers, blessed the king”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-Wiktionary, English bless‘to bloom’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōþąWiktionary, English bless‘blood’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blōdisōnWiktionary, English bless‘to sprinkle, mark or hallow with blood’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150bletsianWiktionary, English bless‘to consecrate (with blood)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blessenWiktionary, English bless‘to ecclesiastically sanction or sanctify’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1577blessWiktionary, English bless. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England: “the archbishop vsing certeine praiers, blessed the king”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘to bloom’

full, flower, fool, blow, bloody, blade, floral, foil, flora, bloom, flourish, folly, blossom, folio, ferret, florist, flor, folic, fleur, belladonna, exfoliate, bloodless, 53 more

through Proto-Germanic *blōþą ‘blood’

blood, bleed, 4 more

Today it means

verb To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bless”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- / bless

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