ben meaning (obsolete): definition, etymology and quotations

ben

nounalso spelled Ben

/bɛn/ · /bɪn/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bōjana Proto-Indo-European *-nis Proto-Germanic *-niz Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-nis Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-ni-s Proto-Germanic *bōniz Proto-West Germanic *bōni Old English bēn Middle English ben, beneder. English ben From Middle English ben, bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, favor, compulsory service”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōni, from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say”). Related to ban. More at boon.

Obsolete A prayer; a petition.

ben

prep

Etymology From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- + in.

Northern England, Scotland In, into.

And he was waving to me to creep in, so I just did and then just to skip ben the front and then in the lobby.2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 32:

ben

adv

Etymology From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- + in.

Northern England, Scotland Inside.

ben

adj

Etymology From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- + in.

Inner, interior.

Derived terms: ben-end, ben-room

Ben

noun

US, Slang A US$100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money.

Synonyms: Ben Franklin, Benjamin, Benjamin Franklin, Franklin

ben

noun

Etymology From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- + in.

Northern England, Scotland The inner room of a two-room cottage (as opposed to the but); the ben room.

Bert Kerston was awakened by a steady tap on the ben window.1972, George Mackay Brown, Greenvoe, Polygon, published 2019, page 25:

Derived terms: but and ben

ben

noun

Etymology From Middle English been, from Old French and Medieval Latin, probably from a North African pronunciation of Arabic بَان (bān, “ben tree”).

A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.

The winged seed of the ben tree.

The oil of the ben seed.

Synonyms: drumstick tree, horseradish tree, moringa
Derived terms: ben-nut, ben oil

ben

noun

Etymology From Arabic بِن (bin) and Hebrew בן (ben, “son”).

Capitalized, Usually Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames).

Derived terms: brit ben, Nickie-ben

ben

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Scots ben, benn, from Scottish Gaelic beinn.

A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.

Derived terms: Ben Lomond, Ben More, Ben Nevis, Ben Venue

ben

noun

Etymology Shortening.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Theater UK, Obsolete, Slang A benefit (performance to raise funds).

In the Chronicles of the Stage, some curious particulars are given relating to Sir Henry Herbert and the well-known Sir William Davidson, by which we learn, amongst other things, that a “ben” or benefit at Drury Lane, two centuries ago, was worth a hundred pounds.year?, The Catholic Literary Circular (page 75)

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for ben and Ben.