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belief

Pronunciation: /bɪˈliːf/

The English word “belief” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Mental acceptance of a claim as true.
  2. Faith or trust in the reality of something; often based upon one's own reasoning, trust in a claim, desire of actuality, and/or evidence considered.
  3. Something believed.
  4. The quality or state of believing.
  5. Religious faith.
  6. One's religious or moral convictions.

Etymology

From Middle English bileve, from Old English lēafa, from Proto-West Germanic *laubu from Proto-Germanic *laubō. Compare German Glaube (“faith, belief”). The replacement of final /v/ with /f/ is due to the analogy of noun-verb pairs with /f/ in the noun but /v/ in the verb, creating a pair belief : believe on the model of e.g. grief : grieve or proof : prove.

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