belong
verbEtymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English be- Proto-Germanic *langōną Proto-West Germanic *langōn Old English langian Middle English longen Middle English belongen English belong From Middle English belongen, bilongen, from Middle English be- + longen (“to be fitting, be suitable”), from Old English langian (“to pertain to, suit”), equivalent to be- + long (“to belong”). Compare Saterland Frisian beloangje (“to attain, reach, meet”), Dutch belangen (“to concern”), German belangen (“to sue, concern”).
Definitions
To have its proper place.
- Where does this book belong? It belongs on the top shelf.
To be the property of, or be bound to by dependency or as an attribute.
- That house belongs to me.
- Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
- A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. These properties were known to have belonged to a toddy drawer. He had disappeared.
To be the spouse or partner of.
- John wanted to ask Mary out on a date, but learned that Mary belonged to another man.
›+ 4 more definitionsshow fewer
(followed by to) To be an element of (a set). The symbol ∈ means belongs to.
- Suppose x belongs to #92;mathbb#123;R#125;…
To be deserved by.
- More evils belong us than happen to us.
To do something habitually or customarily.
- Belong. To be accustomed; to be due. He belongs to go every day. The 'bus belongs to start soon.
- […] she belong to behave now she's growed up.
Of, belonging to.
- Jim Campbell, Charlie, Dick, ... Fred, lubra b’longa him, me, thass all.
- By an’ bye ’im grow ’m up make ’m good fella stockman b’longta you.
- Those who had persevered with the course and had acquired some skill were now almost deferentially called ‘Maban (expert) belonga clay’.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at belong. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at belong. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
9 hops · closes at belong
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA