English word believe comes from Proto-Germanic *laubijaną, Proto-Indo-European *loyp-éye-, Proto-Germanic *lībaną (To remain, to be left.), Old English liefan, Proto-Germanic *bi- (By, at; a general locative prefix.)
Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
---|---|---|
*laubijaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
*loyp-éye- | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
*lībaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To remain, to be left. |
liefan | Old English (ang) | (transitive) to believe; trust; confide in. (transitive) to give leave; grant; allow; consent. |
*bi- | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | By, at; a general locative prefix. |
*bilaubijaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To believe. |
beliefan | Old English (ang) | To believe. |
*bilībaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To stay, to remain in place. |
belīefan | Old English (ang) | |
*bilaibijaną | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | To cause to stay, to leave behind. |
belǣfan | Old English (ang) | |
belæfan | Old English (ang) | To be left; remain. |
bileven | Middle English (enm) | |
believe | English (en) | (intransitive) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.. (transitive) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing). (transitive) To accept that someone is telling the truth. |