To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify.
To invoke divine favor upon.
To honor as holy; glorify: Bless the Lord.
To confer well-being or prosperity on.
To endow, as with talent.
[Middle English blessen, from Old English blētsian, to consecrate; see bhel-3 in Indo-European roots.]
bless'er n.
Word History: The verb bless comes from Old English bldsian, blēdsian, blētsian, "to bless, wish happiness, consecrate." Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *blōdan, "blood." Bldsian therefore literally means "to consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood." The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, the early Germanic migrants to Britain, used bldsian for their pagan sacrifices. After they converted to Christianity, bldsian acquired new meanings as a result of its use in translations of the Latin Bible, but it kept its pagan Germanic senses as well.
O.E. bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian "to consecrate, make holy," from P.Gmc. *blothisojan "mark with blood," from *blotham "blood" (see blood). Originally a blood sprinkling on pagan altars. This word was chosen in O.E. bibles to translate L. benedicere and Gk. eulogein, both of which have a ground sense of "to speak well of, to praise," but were used in Scripture to translate Heb. brk "to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings." Meaning shifted in late O.E. toward "to confer happiness, well-being," by resemblance to unrelated bliss. No cognates in other languages. Blessing is O.E. bledsung.
Bless\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blessedor Blest; p. pr. & vb. n. Blessing.] [OE. blessien, bletsen, AS. bletsian, bledsian, bloedsian, fr. bl?d blood; prob. originally to consecrate by sprinkling with blood. See Blood.]1. To make or pronounce holy; to consecrate And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. --Gen. ii. 3. 2. To make happy, blithesome, or joyous; to confer prosperity or happiness upon; to grant divine favor to. The quality of mercy is . . . twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. --Shak. It hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee. --1 Chron. xvii. 27 (R. V. ) 3. To express a wish or prayer for the happiness of; to invoke a blessing upon; -- applied to persons. Bless them which persecute you. --Rom. xii. 14. 4. To invoke or confer beneficial attributes or qualities upon; to invoke or confer a blessing on, -- as on food. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. --Luke ix. 16. 5. To make the sign of the cross upon; to cross (one's self). [Archaic] --Holinshed. 6. To guard; to keep; to protect. [Obs.] 7. To praise, or glorify; to extol for excellences. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. --Ps. ciii. 1. 8. To esteem or account happy; to felicitate. The nations shall bless themselves in him. --Jer. iv. 3. 9. To wave; to brandish. [Obs.] And burning blades about their heads do bless. --Spenser. Round his armed head his trenchant blade he blest. --Fairfax. Note: This is an old sense of the word, supposed by Johnson, Nares, and others, to have been derived from the old rite of blessing a field by directing the hands to all parts of it. "In drawing [their bow] some fetch such a compass as though they would turn about and bless all the field." --Ascham. Bless me!Bless us! an exclamation of surprise. --Milton. To bless from, to secure, defend, or preserve from. "Bless me from marrying a usurer." --Shak. To bless the doors from nightly harm. --Milton. To bless with, To be blessed with, to favor or endow with; to be favored or endowed with; as, God blesses us with health; we are blessed with happiness.
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Audio Help [bles] Pronunciation Key 
dsian, blēdsian, blētsian, "to bless, wish happiness, consecrate." Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *blōdan, "blood." Bl
