Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE-LI'ED, pp.

Falsely represented either by word or obvious evidence and indication; counterfeited; mimicked.

BE-LIEF', n. [Sax. geleaf, leave, license, permission, consent, assent, belief, faith, or trust; geleafan, gelefan, geliefan, gelyfan, to believe; leofan, to leave and to live. From these words, it appears that belief is from the root of leave, permission, assent; Sax. leaf, leave and belief, fides; leofa, permission, license; written also lif and lufa; lyfan, to permit; D. geloof, G. glaube, belief, credit, faith; gelooven, glauben, to believe; Dan. belover, to promise; D. oorlof, verlof, leave, permission; G. urlaub, leave, furlow. The primary sense of believe, is to throw or put to, or to assent to; to leave with or to rest on; to rely. See Leave and Live.]

1. A persuasion of the truth, or an assent of mind to the truth of a declaration, proposition, or alledged fact, on the ground of evidence, distinct from personal knowledge; as, the belief of the gospel; belief of a witness. Belief may also be founded on internal impressions, or arguments and reasons furnished by our own minds; as, the belief of our senses; a train of reasoning may result in belief. Belief is opposed to knowledge and science.
2. In theology, faith, or a firm persuasion of the truths of religion. No man can attain [to] belief by the bare contemplation of heaven and earth. Hooker.
3. Religion; the body of tenets held by the professors of faith. In the heat of persecution, to which christian belief was subject, upon its first promulgation. Hooker.
4. In some cases, the word is used for persuasion or opinion, when the evidence is not so clear as to leave no doubt; but the shades of strength in opinion can hardly be defined, or exemplified. Hence the use of qualifying words; as, a firm, full, or strong belief.
5. The thing believed; the object of belief. Superstitious prophecies are the belief of fools. Bacon.
6. A creed; a form or summary of articles of faith. In this sense, we generally use Creed.

BE-LIEV'A-BLE, a.

That may be believed; credible. Sherwood.

BE-LIEVE', v.i.

To have a firm persuasion of any thing. In some cases, to have a full persuasion, approaching to certainty; in others, more doubt is implied. It is often followed by in or on, epecially in the Scriptures. To believe in, is, to hold as the object of faith. “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John xiv. To believe on, is to trust, to place full confidence in, to rest upon with faith. “To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John i. Johnson. But there is no ground for much distinction. In theology, to believe sometimes expresses a mere assent of the understanding to the truths of the gospel; as in the case of Simon. Acts viii. In others, the word implies, with this assent of the mind, a yielding of the will and affections, accompanied with a humble reliance on Christ for salvation. John i. 12. iii 15. In popular use and familiar discourse, to believe often expresses an opinion in a vague manner, without a very exact estimate of evidence, noting a mere preponderance of opinion, and is nearly equivalent to think or suppose.

BE-LIEVE', v.t.

1. To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity. When we believe upon the authority of reasoning, arguments, or a concurrence of facts and circumstances, we rest our conclusions upon their strength or probability, their agreement with our own experience, &c.
2. To expect or hope with confidence; to trust. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Ps. xxvii.

BE-LIEV'ED, pp.

Credited; assented to, as true.

BE-LIEV'ER, n.

1. One who believes; one who gives credit to other evidence than that of personal knowledge.
2. In theology, one who gives credit to the truth of the Scriptures, as a revelation from God. In a more restricted sense, a professor of Christianity; one who receives the gospel, as unfolding the true way of salvation, and Christ, as his Savior. In the primitive Church, those who had been instructed in the truths of the gospel and baptized, were called believers; in distinction from the catechumens, who were under instruction, as preparatory to baptism and admission to church privileges. Encyc.

BE-LIEV'ING, ppr.

Giving credit to testimony or to other evidence than personal knowledge.

BE-LIEV'ING-LY, adv.

In a believing manner.

BE-LIKE', adv. [be and like.]

Probably; likely; perhaps. But perhaps from be and the Dan. lykke, luck. By luck or chance.

BE-LIKE'LY, adv.

Probably. [Not used.] Hall.

BE-LIME', v.t.

To besmear with lime. Bp. Hall.

BE-LIT'TLE, v.t.

To make smaller; to lower in character.

BE-LIVE', adv. [See Live.]

Speedily; quickly. [Obs.] Spenser.

BELL, n. [Sax. bell, bella, belle, so named from its sound; Sax. bellan, to bawl or bellow; W. ballaw; G. bellen; D. id.; coinciding with βαλλω and pello. See Peal.]

1. A vessel or hollow body, used for making sounds. Its constituent parts are a barrel or hollow body, enlarged or expanded at one end, an ear or cannon by which it is hung to a beam, and a clapper on the inside. It is formed of a composition of metals. Bells are of high antiquity. The blue tunic of the Jewish high-priest was adorned with golden bells; and the kings of Persia are said to have the hem of their robe adorned with them in like manner. Among the Greeks, those who went the nightly rounds in camps or garrisons, used to ring a bell, at each sentinel-box, to see that the soldier on duty was awake. Bells were also put on the necks of criminals, to warn persons to move out of the way of so ill an omen, as the sight of a criminal or his executioner; also on the necks of beasts and birds and in houses. In churches and other public buildings, bells are now used to notify the time of meeting of any congregation or other assembly. Encyc. In private houses, bells are used to call servants, either hung and moved by a wire, or as hand-bells. Small bells are also used in electrical experiments.
2. A hollow body of metal, perforated, and containing a solid ball, to give sounds when shaken; used on animals, as on horses or hawks.
3. Any thing in form of a bell, as the cup or calyx of a flower. To bear the bell, is to be the first or leader, in allusion to the bell-wether of a flock, or the leading horse of a team or drove, that wears bells on his collar. To shake the bells, a phrase of Shakspeare, signifies to move, give notice or alarm.

BELL, v.i.

To grow in the form of bells, as buds or flowers.

BEL-LA-DON'NA, n.

A plant, a species of Atropa, or deadly nightshade. Lee.

BEL'LA-TRIX, n. [L.]

A ruddy, glittering star of the second magnitude, in the left shoulder of Orion; so named from its imagined influence in exciting war. Encyc.

BELLE, n. [bel; Fr. from L. bellus, It. bello, Sp. bello, handsome, fine, whence to embellish; allied perhaps to Russ. bielo, white.]

A young lady. In popular use, a lady of superior beauty and much admired.

BELL'ED, a.

Hung with bells.

BELLES'-LET-TRES, n. [plur. bel'letter, or anglicised, bell-letters; Fr. See Belle and Letter.]

Polite literature; a word of very vague signification, It includes poetry and oratory; but authors are not agreed to what particular branches of learning the term should be restricted. Encyc.

BELL'FASH-ION-ED, a.

Having the form of a bell. Mortimer.

BELL'FLOW-ER, n. [bell and flower.]

A genus of plants so named from the shape of the coral or flower which resembles a bell, L. Campanula, a genus of Monogynian Pentanders, comprehending many species.

BELL'FOUND-ER, n. [bell and founder.]

A man whose occupation is to found or cast bells.

BELL'I-BONE, n. [Fr. belle and bonne.]

A woman excelling both in beauty and goodness. [Not in use.] Spenser.