the.com/beloved
A word so warm it survives breakups, funerals, and even the people who earned it.
means Dearly loved; a person or thing held in deep affection, often used as a tender form of address.
from A medieval English word, originally the past participle of the old verb 'belove' — to love deeply or hold dear. The 'be-' is an intensifying prefix (the same one in 'bewitch' and 'befriend'), so 'beloved' literally means 'thoroughly loved.' The verb itself faded away centuries ago, leaving 'beloved' behind as an orphan participle — a word now permanently in love, with no verb left to do the loving.
- old roots
- From Middle English meaning thoroughly loved
- toni morrison
- Her 1987 novel won the Pulitzer Prize
- grammar quirk
- Once a verb, now mostly an adjective
- epitaph favorite
- Carved on gravestones for centuries
beloved by toni morrison — 1988 pulitzer prize-winning novel about an enslaved woman in ohio
beloved bbc drama series — 2024 british television adaptation starring thandiwe newton