Adjacent Words

Beloved definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BELOV'ED, ppr. [be and loved, from love. Belove, as a verb, is not used.]
Loved; greatly loved; dear to the heart.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: dearly loved [syn: beloved, darling, dear] n
1: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment [syn: beloved, dear, dearest, honey, love]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of beloven to love, from be- + loven to love Date: 14th century dearly loved ; dear to the heart • beloved noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

predic. also adj. & n. --adj. much loved. --n. a much loved person. Etymology: obs. belove (v.)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Belove Be*love", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beloved.] [OE. bilufien. See pref. Be-, and Love, v. t.] To love. [Obs.] --Wodroephe.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Beloved Be*loved", p. p. & a. Greatly loved; dear to the heart. Antony, so well beloved of C[ae]sar. --Shak. This is my beloved Son. --Matt. iii. 17.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Beloved Be*lov"ed, n. One greatly loved. My beloved is mine, and I am his. --Cant. ii. 16.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. A beloved person, thing, or place is one that you feel great affection for. He lost his beloved wife last year... ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ of/by n 2. Your beloved is the person that you love. (OLD-FASHIONED) He takes his beloved into his arms. N-SING: usu poss N

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-luv'-ed, be-luv'-d' (agapetos): A term of affectionate endearment common to both Testaments; in the Old Testament found, 26 out of 42 times, in Solomon's So of Love. Limited chiefly to two Heb words and their derivatives: 'ahebh, "to breathe" or "long for," hence, to love, corresponding to the New Testament, agapao, "to prefer," i.e. a love based on respect and benevolent regard; dodh, "love," chiefly love between the sexes, based on sense and emotion, akin to phileo (Latin amare). Used occasionally, in their nobler sense, interchangeably, e.g. the former of a husband's love for his wife (De 21:15,16); twice of a lover (So 1:14,16), thus lifting the affection of the So of Solomon out of mere amorousness into the realm of the spiritual and possibly Messianic. Both words used of God's love for His chosen: e.g. Solomon, "beloved of his God" (Ne 13:26); Benjamin "beloved of Yahweh" (De 33:12); so even of wayward Israel (Jer 11:15).

In the New Testament "beloved" used exclusively of Divine and Christian love, an affection begotten in the community of the new spiritual life in Christ, e.g. "beloved in the Lord" (Ro 16:8). The beauty, unity, endearment of this love is historically unique, being peculiarly Christian. "Brethren" in Christ are "beloved" (1Th 1:4; 1Co 15:58; Jas 1:16; 2:5). Many individuals are specified by name: Timothy (2Ti 1:2); Philemon (Phm 1:1); Amplias, Urbane, Stachys, Persis (Ro 16:8,9,12), etc. The aged John is the conspicuous New Testament illustration of the depth and tenderness of Christian love. In his epistles alone he addresses his disciples 12 times as "beloved." Paul terms "God's elect" "holy and beloved" (Col 3:12).

The term rises to still Diviner significance as an epithet of Christ, whom Paul, grateful for His "freely bestowed" grace, terms "the Beloved." This is the word used repeatedly to express God the Father's infinite affection for Jesus His "beloved Son" (Mt 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mr 1:11; 9:7; Lu 3:22; 20:13).

Agapetos rendered as above 47 times is 9 times "dearly beloved" (the Revised Version (British and American) uniformly omits "dearly") and 3 times "well beloved" (the Revised Version (British and American) omits "well"). The former rendering found only once in the Old Testament (yedhidhuth, "something beloved"), portraying God's tender love for His people: "dearly beloved of my soul" (Jer 12:7). Thrice is Daniel spoken of as "greatly beloved" of Gabriel and of God (hamudhoth, "precious," i.e. delight = beloved; Da 9:23; 10:11,19). Through the apostles the word has become familiar in pastoral and sermonic address. Few New Testament words better illustrate the power and impress of the Christian spirit on succeeding centuries than this.

Dwight M. Pratt

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Dear, darling, much loved.

Moby Thesaurus

admired, adored, beau, beloved object, cherished, crush, darling, dear, dear one, dearly beloved, esteemed, favorite, flame, heartthrob, held dear, honey, idolized, inamorata, inamorato, ladylove, light of love, love, loved, loved one, lover, pet, popular, precious, prized, respected, revered, steady, sweet, sweetheart, sweetie, treasured, truelove, valued, well-beloved, well-liked, white-haired