Word of the Day: Blessed

blessed bless-ed / blĕs-ĭd   adjective 1. worthy of or regarded with profound adoration, devotion, or worship Still through the cloven skies they come with peaceful wings unfurled, and still their heavenly music floats o’er all the weary world; above its sad and lowly plains, they bend on hovering wing, and ever o’er its Babel sounds the blessed angels sing. Lyrics from “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” by Edmund H. Sears, 1810 – 1876   2. Blessed, proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church to be worthy of veneration and thus beatified The Vatican, possibly at the urging of Pope John Paul II, reportedly considered taking the unprecedented step of declaring Mother Teresa blessed and a saint in a single ceremony.  “Pope considered declaring Mother Teresa blessed, saint in one ceremony”, ‘National Catholic Reporter’, October 17, 2003   3. holy or made holy, consecrated The monk’s habit is never so blessed that the devil can’t hide in it.  German Proverb   4. bringing great happiness, fortune or pleasure It’s more blessed to give than to receive.  Acts 20:35 (NIV)   5. fortunate; happy Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.  English Proverb   6. used in expressions as an intensifier, to make more powerful or forceful When every blessed thing you have is made of silver, or of gold, you long for simple pewter.  W. S. Gilbert, 1836 – 1911   noun 1. those who live with God in heaven At the end of all things, the blessed will say, ‘We never lived anywhere but in heaven.’ C. S. Lewis, 1898 – 1963     etymology The past passive participle of the English verb bless, which comes through the Middle English verb blessen/bletsien (bestow divine favor on, bless) from the Anglo-Saxon verb bletsian/bledsian/bloedsian (consecrate with blood, make holy), from the Anglo-Saxon noun blod (blood). Thank you to Allen Ward for providing this etymology for blessed.