Origin: 1125–75; earlier
bile(
e)
ve (noun use of v.); replacing
Middle English bileave, equivalent to
bi- be- +
leave; compare
Old English gelēafa (cognate with
Dutch geloof, German Glaube; akin to
Gothic galaubeins)
Related formspre·be·lief, noun
su·per·be·lief, noun
Synonyms
1. view, tenet, conclusion, persuasion. 2. assurance. Belief, certainty, conviction refer to acceptance of, or confidence in, an alleged fact or body of facts as true or right without positive knowledge or proof. Belief is such acceptance in general: belief in astrology. Certainty indicates unquestioning belief and positiveness in one's own mind that something is true: I know this for a certainty. Conviction is settled, profound, or earnest belief that something is right: a conviction that a decision is just. 4. doctrine, dogma.