Accepts something as true, or trusts in the reliability of someone or something.
From Old English 'belyfan,' related to 'leave' and 'lief' (willing). The original meaning was 'to make dear to oneself' or 'to hold dear,' which evolved into 'to trust in' and then 'to accept as true.'
It's beautiful that 'believe' comes from a word meaning 'to hold dear'—when you really believe in something, you're literally holding it dear to yourself, which explains why beliefs feel so personal and important.
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