Belave

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To lave or wash about; wash all over; wash. transitive
  2. 2
    to remain, continue; to belay archaic, intransitive
  3. 3
    to be alive archaic, intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
remainremain

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bilaven (“to wash all over”), from bi-, be- + laven (“to wash, pour water on”), equivalent to be- + lave.

Etymology 2

Anomalous alteration of beleve (“to remain, be alive”) and belive (“to remain, stay”), both from Middle English beliven (“to remain”), from Old English belīfan (“to remain”), from Proto-Germanic *bilībaną (“to remain”). More at belive, leave.

More for "belave"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.