belove

t. [Eng. prefix be, and love.] Το love greatly. (Used now only in the past participle [BELOVED], and more rarely in the present one [BELOVING].) "If beauty were a string of silke, I would wear it about my neck for a certain testimony that I belove it much."-Wodroephe: Fr. & Eng . Gr . (1623), p. 322. bě-loved', pa. par., a., & s. [BELOVE.] Loved greatly. A. As past participle & adj.: Used- (1) Of a lover to his mistre , and vice vers a; or members of one family to each other. "Pardon, beloved Con stance..." Hemans: The Vespers of Palermo. (2) Of a person in society manifesting specially amiable qualities. "He was beloved by all, and most of all by the children." Long fellow: Evangerine, 1. 3. (3) Of persons constituting one political or religious brotherhood. 508 (a) In a general sense: "One hour of their beloved Oliver might even now restore the glory which had departed."-Macaulay: Hist. Eng., ch. i. (b) Spec.: Used of members of the Christian Church with warm feelings of affection to each other. our beloved Barnabas and Paul."- Acts XV. 25. Hence the apostolic phrase "dearly beloved" has been introduced from the New Testament (Philemon i., .) into liturgic worship. "Dearly beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth er.-Liturgy: Morning Prayer; Ibid., Evening Prayer. 118 (4) Of a pious man loved by God, or yet more, of the Eternal Son of God viewed as an object of infinite affection on the part of the Eternal Father. Solomon.. who was beloved of his God." Neh . xiii. 26. "And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son."- Matt . iii. 17. B. As substantive : 1. Of earthly beings: One greatly loved. "Not for Bohemia will I break my oath To this my fair beloved." Shakesp.: Winter's Tale, iv. 4. 2. Of heavenly beings: The Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. "Of all on earth whom God so much doth grace, And lets his owne Beloved to behold. Spenser: Hymne of Heavenly Beautie. † bě-lov'-ing, pr. par. [BELOVE.]