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Ben

//bɛn// adj, adv, name, noun, prep, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Inner, interior.
  2. 2
    Alternative spelling of bene; good. UK, alt-of, alternative, obsolete

    "A gage of ben Rom-bouse, / In a bousing-ken of Rom-vile, / Is benar than a Caster, / Pecke, pennam, lay, or popler, / Which we mill in deuse a vile."

Adverb
  1. 1
    Inside. Northern-England, Scotland, not-comparable
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A shortening of the male given name Benjamin or, less often, of Benedict.

    "Ben wolved down a digestive biscuit, then stretched out on his stomach on the flagstones beside them."

  2. 2
    The capital city of Ben County, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran.
  3. 3
    Alternative form of Beng (“Mande language of Ivory Coast”). alt-of, alternative
  4. 4
    A county of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran.
Noun
  1. 1
    A prayer; a petition. obsolete
  2. 2
    The inner room of a two-room cottage (as opposed to the but); the ben room. Northern-England, Scotland

    "Bert Kerston was awakened by a steady tap on the ben window."

  3. 3
    A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.
  4. 4
    Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames). capitalized, uncountable, usually
  5. 5
    A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    A benefit (performance to raise funds). UK, obsolete, slang

    "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."

  2. 7
    Alternative form of bin. Ireland, alt-of, alternative
  3. 8
    A US$100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money. US, slang
  4. 9
    a mountain or tall hill wordnet
  5. 10
    The winged seed of the ben tree.
  6. 11
    The oil of the ben seed.
Preposition
  1. 1
    In, into. Northern-England, Scotland

    "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."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

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

Etymology 3

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

Etymology 4

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

Etymology 5

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

Etymology 6

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

Etymology 7

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

Etymology 8

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

Etymology 9

c. 16th century. Probably from Latin bene or Italian bene.

Etymology 10

Shortening.

See also for "ben"

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