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Webster 1913 Edition

Belong

Be-long′

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Belonged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Belonging
.]
[OE.
belongen
(akin to D.
belangen
to concern, G.
belangen
to attain to, to concern); pref.
be-
+
longen
to desire. See
Long
,
Verb.
I.
]
[Usually construed with to.]
1.
To be the property of;
as, Jamaica
belongs
to Great Britain
.
2.
To be a part of, or connected with; to be appendant or related; to owe allegiance or service.
A desert place
belonging
to . . . Bethsaids.
Luke ix. 10.
The mighty men which
belonged
to David.
1 Kings i. 8.
3.
To be the concern or proper business or function of; to appertain to.
“Do not interpretations belong to God ?”
Gen. xl. 8.
4.
To be suitable for; to be due to.
Strong meat
belongeth
to them that are of full age.
Heb. v. 14.
No blame
belongs
to thee.
Shakespeare
5.
To be native to, or an inhabitant of; esp. to have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town.
Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers
belong
.
Blackstone.

Be-long′

,
Verb.
T.
To be deserved by.
[Obs.]
More evils
belong
us than happen to us.
B. Jonson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Belong

BELONG'

, v.i.
1.
To be the property of; as, a field belongs to Richard Roe; Jamaica belongs to G.Britain.
2.
To be the concern or proper business of; to appertain; as, it belongs to John Doe to prove his title.
3.
To be appendant to.
He went into a desert place belonging to Bethsaida. Luke 9.
4.
To be a part of, or connected with, though detached in place; as, a beam or rafter belongs to such a frame, or to such a place in the building.
5.
To have relation to.
And David said, to whom belongest thou? 1.Sam.30.
6.
To be the quality or attribute of.
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. Dan.9.
7.
To be suitable for.
Strong meat belongeth to them of full age. Heb.5.
8.
To relate to, or be referred to.
He careth for things that belong to the Lord. l Cor.7.
9.
To have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town.
Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong. Hence,
10. To be the native of; to have original residence.
There is no other country in the world to which the Gipeys could belong.
11. In common language, to have a settled residence; to be domiciliated.

Definition 2024

belong

belong

See also: bêlong

English

Pronunciation

Verb

belong ‎(third-person singular simple present belongs, present participle belonging, simple past and past participle belonged)

  1. (intransitive) To have its proper place.
    Where does this document belong?‎
    1. (of a person) To be accepted in a group.
      You don’t belong here — get out.‎
    2. (followed by to) To be a part of a group.
      I don’t belong to them!‎
  2. (intransitive, followed by to) To be part of, or the property of.
    That house belongs to me.‎
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
    • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:
      A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. These properties were known to have belonged to a toddy drawer. He had disappeared.
  3. (intransitive, followed by to) To be the spouse or partner of. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  4. (intransitive, set theory) (followed by to) To be an element of (a set). The symbol means belongs to.
    Suppose belongs to ... (— written: )‎
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To be deserved by.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Ben Jonson
      More evils belong us than happen to us.
Derived terms
Translations

External links

  • belong at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology 2

Compare Kriol blanga, Bislama blong, Tok Pisin bilong, and Torres Strait Creole blong.

Alternative forms

  • blung
  • b’longta, b’longa, belonga, blonga

Preposition

belong

  1. (Australian Aboriginal‎, optionally followed by to) Of, belonging to.
    • 1915, E. R. Masson, Untamed Territory:
      Jim Campbell, Charlie, Dick, ... Fred, lubra b’longa him, me, thass all.
    • 1936, M. & E. Durack, Chunuma:
      By an’ bye ’im grow ’m up make ’m good fella stockman b’longta you.
    • 1977, N. Kolig, Playing Alonga Mud:
      Those who had persevered with the course and had acquired some skill were now almost deferentially called ‘Maban (expert) belonga clay’.
    • 1986 December, Kowanyama News:
      Them two bin help’m too, and that father blung to this one old Frank.
    • 1986, B. Shaw, Countrymen:
      There’s the bloke that’s kill that feller, uncle belong you an me.
    • 1991, D. B. Rose, Hidden Histories:
      Get that fire [wood] stacked up like that tree there, that high ... It wasn’t wood belong to that fire pile. Might be for station, or somebody else, you know.

Etymology

From Middle English belongen, from be- +‎ longen ‎(“to belong”), from Old English langian ‎(“to pertain to, suit”). Compare Dutch belangen ‎(“to concern”), German belangen ‎(“to attain, concern”). More at be-, long.

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