different between seize vs believe

English

Etymology

Earlier seise, from Middle English seisen, sesen, saisen, from Old French seisir (“to take possession of; invest (person, court)”), from Medieval Latin sac?re (“to lay claim to, appropriate”) (8th century) in the phrase ad propriam sacire, from Old Low Frankish *sakjan (“to sue, bring legal action”), from Proto-Germanic *sakjan?, *sak?n? (compare Old English sacian (“to strive, brawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *sakan? (compare Old Saxon sakan (“to accuse”), Old High German sahhan (“to bicker, quarrel, rebuke”), Old English sacan (“to quarrel, claim by law, accuse”). Cognate to sake and Latin sagio (“to perceive acutely”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?z, IPA^(key): /si?z/
• Homophones: seas, sees

Verb

seize (third-person singular simple present seizes, present participle seizing, simple past and past participle seized)

1. (transitive) To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture.

   Synonyms: clasp, grasp, grip; see also Thesaurus:grasp

2. (transitive) To take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance).

   Synonym: jump on

3. (transitive) To take possession of (by force, law etc.).

   Synonyms: arrogate, commandeer, confiscate

4. (transitive) To have a sudden and powerful effect upon.
   • 2010, Antonio Saggio, A Secret van Gogh: His Motif and Motives, ?ISBN, 11:

     This sensation of an object becoming alive is a characteristic that, I believe, seizes all viewers of a van Gogh. The Bible goes beyond being a simple still-life object to become a living thing, an expression of strength, an existence that emanates from itself, beyond the painting surface to participate in our very lives.

5. (transitive, nautical) To bind, lash or make fast, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line.

6. (transitive, obsolete) To fasten, fix.
7. (intransitive) To lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ on or upon).

8. (intransitive) To have a seizure.
9. (intransitive) To bind or lock in position immovably; see also seize up.
   • 2012, Martha Holmberg, Modern Sauces: More Than 150 Recipes for Every Cook, Every Day (page 235)

     Chocolate seizes if a small amount of water (or watery liquid such as brandy) finds its way into the chocolate while it is melting. […] If chocolate seizes, it will look grainy and matte rather than glossy and smooth.

10. (Britain, intransitive) To submit for consideration to a deliberative body.
11. (law) (with of) To cause (an action or matter) to be or remain before (a certain judge or court).

    This Court will remain seized of this matter.

Derived terms

Related terms

• seizure

Translations

References

• seize in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• “seize”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000

French

Etymology

From Middle French seze, from Old French seize, seze, from Latin s?decim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s?z/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): [saiz]
• Rhymes: -?z

Numeral

seize

1. sixteen

Derived terms

• seizième

Related terms

• six
• dix

Further reading

• “seize” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Norman

Etymology

From Old French seize, from Latin s?decim.

Pronunciation

Numeral

seize

1. (Jersey, Guernsey) sixteen

English

Alternative forms

• beleeve (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English beleven, bileven, from Old English bel?efan (“to believe”), a later variant to Proto-Germanic *galaubijan? (“to have faith, believe”). Cognate with Scots beleve (“to believe”). Compare Old English ?el?efan (“to be dear to; believe, trust”), Old English ?el?afa (“belief, faith, confidence, trust”), Old English l?of ("dear, valued, beloved, pleasant, agreeable"; > English lief). Related also to North Frisian leauwjen (“to believe”), West Frisian leauwe (“to believe”), Dutch geloven (“to believe”), German glauben (“to believe”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????????? (galaubjan, “to hold dear, valuable, or satisfactory, approve of, believe”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /b??li?v/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /b??liv/, /bi-/, /b?-/
• Rhymes: -i?v
• Hyphenation: be?lieve

Verb

believe (third-person singular simple present believes, present participle believing, simple past and past participle believed)

1. (transitive) To accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing)
2. (transitive) To accept that someone is telling the truth.

3. (intransitive) To have religious faith; to believe in a greater truth.
4. (transitive) To opine, think, reckon

   Do you think this is good?

   Hmm, I believe it's okay.

Antonyms

• disbelieve

Usage notes

• The transitive verb believe and the phrasal verb believe in are similar but can have very different implications.
  • To “believe” someone or something means to accept specific pieces of information as truth: believe the news, believe the lead witness. To “believe a complete stranger” means to accept a stranger's story with little evidence.
  • To “believe in” someone or something means to hold confidence and trust in that person or concept: believe in liberty, believe in God. To “believe in one's fellow man” means to place trust and confidence in mankind.
• Meanings sometimes overlap. To believe in a religious text would also require affirming the truth of at least the major tenets. To believe a religious text might likewise imply placing one's confidence and trust in it, in addition to accepting its statements as facts.
• This is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs

Derived terms

Related terms

• belief
• disbelief

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

believe

1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of believen

Anagrams

• beviele