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be·at·i·fy

(bē-ătə-fī′)

tr.v. be·at·i·fied, be·at·i·fy·ing, be·at·i·fies

1. Roman Catholic Church To proclaim (a deceased person) to be one of the blessed and thus worthy of public religious veneration in a particular region or religious congregation.

2. To exalt; glorify: "There was no dearth of criticism even after Beethoven was beatified" (Paul Henry Lang).

[French beatifier, from Late Latin beātificāre : Latin beātus, happy; see BEATIFIC + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]

be·at′i·fi·cation (-fĭ-kāshən) n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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