belong

i. [Eng. prefix be, and O. Eng. long to belong, to belong to A.S. gelang = along, owing to, in consequence of belonging to, proper; Dut. belangen = to concern; be lang importance, concern, interest; be, and langen to reach, to fetch Ger. gelangen = to arrive at, to come to, to attain, to obtain.] I. To be the property of, to be under the control of. 507 1. Of things: To be the property of. and her hap was to light upon a part of the field belonging unto Boaz."- Ruth ii. 3. 2. Of persons: To be under the control of. (Used specially of a child, a ward, a servant, or a slave.) "And David said unto him, To whom be longest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an A male kite."-1 Sam . xxx. 13. II. To appertain to, to be connected with. 1. Of things: (1) To be appendant to, to be attached to, to be a dependency of, or to be a portion of though now detached. "Now Mana eh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Mana eh belonged to the children of Ephraim."-Josh. xvii. 8. (2) To be the proper busine of, to appertain to one as a duty to be discharged or a work to be executed. and unto whom the execution of that law be long eth."-Hooker: Eccl. Pol ., bk. ii., ch. 1, § 1. (3) To be the quality or attribute of. "The faculties belonging to the supreme spirit, are unlimited and boundle , fitted and designed for infinite objects."-Cheyne. (4) To have a certain fixed relation to, to relate to, to have an e ential connection with. "He that at is is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord..."-1 Cor . vii. 32. (5) To be suitable for, to be appropriate to, to be the concomitant of. "Your tributary drops belong to woe." 2. Of persons: Shakesp. Rom . & Jul ., iii. 2. (1) To be connected with a place by birth or residence. "...RC, said to belong to Edinburgh,..." -Weekly Scotsman, Jan. 3, 1880. bě-long-ing, pr. par. & s. [BELONG] A. As pr. par.: In senses corresponding to those of the verb. B. As subst.: Anything belonging to one; a quality or endowment. (Usually in the plural.) "Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper. Shakesp.: Meas. for Meas ., i. 1. Also in the sense of human belongings, relations. "Decreases his welfare, and perhaps injures his be longings."-H. Spencer: Data of Ethics, 6,102.