Added 8 October 2026
belief
/bɪˈliːf/ noun
In Latin: fides Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about belief at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Any cognitive content held as true.
-
A vague idea in which some confidence is placed.
his impression of her was favorable
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)