Believe etymology

English

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.)

Etymology of believe

Detailed word origin of believe

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.

Words with the same origin as believe

Descendants of *lībaną

leave