blessing
noun/ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/
Etymology From Middle English blessinge, blessynge, from Old English blētsung, blēdsung (“a blessing”), equivalent to bless + -ing.
8 senses
1
Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.
- Henceforth, wherever thou may’st roam, My blessing, like a line of light, Is on the waters day and night, And like a beacon guards thee home.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 28:
2
A pronouncement invoking divine aid.
- 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.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
3
Good fortune.
- He was given blessings hoping he would pass his final exam.
5
The act of declaring or bestowing favor; approval.
- We will not proceed without the executive director's blessing.
- Jocasta had my blessing when she seduced you, you stuck-up piffler.2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN:
6
Something someone is glad of.
- After two weeks of sun, last night's rainfall was a blessing.
7
A prayer before a meal; grace.
8
A group of unicorns.
- And since we’re laying out our wishes, we’d also like a blessing of unicorns and one million dollars.2008 September 11, Betsy Schiffman, “Time To Trash the Intellectual Property System, Says Report”, in Wired:
- Then a blessing of unicorns charged into the studio, and I was carried away to be re-educated.2009, Andrew Orlowski, "Facebook music dashboard: Revenue at last?", The Register, 13 September 2011
1 more example
- 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.2011, Suzette Mayr, Monoceros, Coach House Books, published 2011, →ISBN, page 94:
- Antonyms
- curse
- Derived terms
- a blessing and a curse, blessing in disguise, blessing loom, blessingly, Blessing Way, blurse, Camp Blessing, count one's blessings, God's Blessing Green, houseblessing, mixed blessing, stepmother's blessing, Toronto blessing