belonging
[bih-lawng-ing, -long-]
- something that belongs.
- belongings, possessions; goods; personal effects.
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Origin of belonging
belong
[bih-lawng, -long]
- to be in the relation of a member, adherent, inhabitant, etc. (usually followed by to): He belongs to the Knights of Columbus.
- to have the proper qualifications, especially social qualifications, to be a member of a group: You don't belong in this club.
- to be proper or due; be properly or appropriately placed, situated, etc.: Books belong in every home. This belongs on the shelf. He is a statesman who belongs among the great.
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- belong to,
- to be the property of: The book belongs to her.
- to be a part or adjunct of: That cover belongs to this jar.
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Origin of belong
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for belonging
Contemporary Examples
The issue explored the theme of vulnerability, “relevant to anyone who seeks understanding, change, love, and belonging.”
They cross gender boundaries, geography, issues of wealth and belonging.
He added that a plant nursery and two tractors, belonging to local Abdel Azziz Nasserallah, were also damaged in the attack.
But New Yorkers are casually tribal, and dual identities often seem like the minimum bid for belonging here.
He quickly remarried, leaving McWilliam with an almost fairytale sense of not belonging.
Historical Examples
I must say I don't know of any belonging to the latter class.
Ballads of a BohemianRobert W. Service
Why resist, and refuse the glory of belonging to the faculty?
The Imaginary InvalidMolire
He carried Kingozi's rifle, but left that belonging to Winkleman with Mali-ya-bwana.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
You heard what I said, Douw, upon your belonging henceforth to this house--to me?
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
I'll not ask you, with your remembrance of my house and all belonging to it, whether you believe it.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
belonging
- secure relationship; affinity (esp in the phrase a sense of belonging)
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belong
- (foll by to) to be the property or possession (of)
- (foll by to) to be bound to (a person, place, or club) by ties of affection, dependence, allegiance, or membership
- (foll by to, under, with, etc) to be classified (with)this plant belongs to the daisy family
- (foll by to) to be a part or adjunct (of)this top belongs to the smaller box
- to have a proper or usual placethat plate belongs in the cupboard
- informal to be suitable or acceptable, esp sociallyalthough they were rich, they just didn't belong
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Word Origin
C14 belongen, from be- (intensive) + longen; related to Old High German bilangēn to reach; see long ³
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for belonging
belong
v.
mid-14c., "to go along with, properly relate to," from be- intensive prefix, + longen "to go," from Old English langian "pertain to, to go along with," of unknown origin. Senses of "be the property of" and "be a member of" first recorded late 14c. Cognate with Middle Dutch belanghen, Dutch belangen, German belangen. Replaced earlier Old English gelang, with completive prefix ge-.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with belonging
belong
see to the victor belong the spoils.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.