Blessing

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈblÉ›s.ɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -É›sɪŋ

Origin

From Old English bletsung

Noun

1. Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.
2. A pronouncement invoking divine aid.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 5, 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. A thing one is glad of.
7. A prayer before a meal; grace.
8. A group of unicorns.
• 2008, Betsy Schiffman, "Time To Trash the Intellectual Property System, Says Report", Wired, 11 September 2008: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 (2011), ISBN 9781552452417, 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

Anagrams

• glibness