benefactor

English

Alternative forms

• benefactour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English benefactor, borrowed from Medieval Latin benefactor (“he who bestows a favor”), from Latin benefaciō (“benefit someone”), from bene (“good”) + faciō (“do, make”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: bĕn'əfăktər, IPA^(key): /ˈbɛnəˌfæktɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛnəˌfaktə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ben‧e‧fac‧tor

Noun

benefactor (plural benefactors, feminine benefactress or benefactoress or benefactrix)

1. Somebody who gives a gift, often money to a charity.
2. Someone who performs good or noble deeds.

Related terms

• benefactive
• benefactress
• benefactrix
• beneficiary (near antonym)
• beneficent
• benevolent

Translations

on who gives gifts or help

• Arabic: مُتَبَرِّع m (mutabarriʕ)
• Armenian: բարերար (hy) (barerar)
• Belarusian: дабрачы́нец m (dabračýnjec), дабрачы́нка f (dabračýnka), дабрадзе́й m (dabradzjéj), дабрадзе́йка f (dabradzjéjka)
• Bulgarian: благотвори́тел m (blagotvorítel), благотвори́телка f (blagotvorítelka), благоде́тел (bg) m (blagodétel), благоде́телка f (blagodételka)
• Catalan: benefactor m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 恩人 (zh) (ēnrén)

• Coptic: ⲉⲩⲉⲣⲅⲉⲧⲏⲥ (euergetēs)
• Czech: dobrodinec m
• Danish: velgører c
• Dutch: weldoener (nl) m
• Esperanto: bonfaranto
• Estonian: heategija
• Finnish: hyväntekijä, lahjoittaja (fi)
• French: bienfaiteur (fr) m, bienfaitrice (fr) f
• Friulian: benfatôr m
• German: Wohltäter (de) m, Wohltäterin (de) f, Benefaktor m
• Greek: ευεργέτης (el) m (evergétis), δωρητής (el) m (doritís)

  Ancient: εὐεργέτης m (euergétēs)

• Hungarian: jótevő (hu)
• Ido: bonfacanto (io)
• Italian: benefattore (it) m, benefattrice (it) f
• Japanese: 恩人 (ja) (おんじん, onjin)
• Khmer: អ្នកមានគុណ (ʼnɑɑkmiənkun)
• Korean: 은인(恩人) (ko) (eunin)
• Latin: benefactor m
• Latvian: labdaris m
• Lithuanian: geradarys m
• Macedonian: добротвор m (dobrotvor)
• Maori: kaitautoko, kaioha
• Norman: beinfaiteur m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: velgjører m or f

• Old English: wel-doend
• Persian: نیکوکار (fa) (nikukâr), کرفه‌گر (kerfe-gar)
• Polish: dobroczyńca (pl), ofiarodawca (pl), ofiarodawczyni f, benefaktor (pl) m (archaic), benefaktor (pl) m (archaic), benefaktorka f (archaic)
• Portuguese: benfeitor (pt)
• Romanian: binefăcător (ro) m, binefăcătoare (ro) f
• Russian: благоде́тель (ru) m (blagodételʹ), благоде́тельница (ru) f (blagodételʹnica), благотвори́тель (ru) m (blagotvorítelʹ), благотвори́тельница (ru) f (blagotvorítelʹnica)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: dobročinac (sh) m, dobročinitelj (sh) m, dobročiniteljka f, dobročinilac (sh) m, dobrotvor (sh) m

• Slovak: dobrodinec m
• Slovene: dobrotnik m, dobrotnica f
• Spanish: bienhechor (es) m, benefactor (es) m
• Swedish: välgörare c
• Thai: ผู้อุปถัมภ์, ผู้อุปการะ
• Tocharian B: kärtse-yāmi, tanāpate
• Turkish: hayırsever (tr)
• Ukrainian: благоді́йник (uk) m (blahodíjnyk), благоді́йниця (uk) f (blahodíjnycja), доброчи́нець m (dobročýnecʹ), доброді́йник m (dobrodíjnyk), доброді́йниця f (dobrodíjnycja), доброді́й m (dobrodíj), доброді́йка (uk) f (dobrodíjka)
• Venetian: benefator m
• Vietnamese: ân nhân (vi)
• Volapük: (♂♀) benodan (vo), (♂) hibenodan, (♀) jibenodan
• Welsh: cymwynaswr (cy) m, cymwynaswraig f

Catalan

Alternative forms

• benfactor

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin benefactōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [bə.nə.fəkˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [be.ne.fakˈtoɾ]

Noun

benefactor m (plural benefactors, feminine benefactora)

1. benefactor

Related terms

• malfactor, malefactor

Further reading

• “benefactor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “benefactor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “benefactor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “benefactor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Etymology

From benefaciō or benefactus +‎ -tor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /be.neˈfak.tor/, [bɛnɛˈfäkt̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /be.neˈfak.tor/, [beneˈfäkt̪or]

Noun

benefactor m (genitive benefactōris); third declension

1. (Late Latin) benefactor; one who confers a favour

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	benefactor	benefactōrēs
Genitive	benefactōris	benefactōrum
Dative	benefactōrī	benefactōribus
Accusative	benefactōrem	benefactōrēs
Ablative	benefactōre	benefactōribus
Vocative	benefactor	benefactōrēs

Antonyms

• malefactor

Related terms

• benefactus

Descendants

• French: bienfaiteur
• Friulian: benfatôr
• Galician: benfeitor
• Italian: benefattore
• Norman: beinfaiteur
• Old Catalan: benfaytor
• Portuguese: benfeitor
• Romanian: binefăcător
• Sicilian: benifatturi
• Spanish: bienhechor
• Venetian: benefator
• → Catalan: benefactor
• → English: benefactor
• → Spanish: benefactor

References

• “benefactor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• benefactor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin benefactor, from Latin benefaciō. Compare the inherited doublet bienhechor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /benefaɡˈtoɾ/ [be.ne.faɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: be‧ne‧fac‧tor

Noun

benefactor m (plural benefactores, feminine benefactora, feminine plural benefactoras)

1. benefactor

Related terms

• bienfacer

 

Further reading

• “benefactor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014