benefit
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of benfet, bienfet, bienfait (“good or noble deed”), from Anglo-Norman benfet (“well-done”), Middle French bienfait, from Old French bienfet, bienfait (“foredeal, favour”), from past participle of bienfaire (“to do good, do well”), from bien (“well”) + faire (“to do”), modelled after Latin benefactum (“good deed”). More at benefactor.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
benefit (plural benefits)
- An advantage, help, sake or aid from something.
-
It was for her benefit. His benefit was free beer.
-
1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
- When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
-
- (insurance) A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
- An event such as a performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
- (obsolete) beneficence; liberality
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Webster (1623) to this entry?)
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
- (advantage, help): disadvantage, encumbrance, hindrance, nuisance, obstacle, detriment
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
advantage, help or aid
|
|
profit, use
payment, subsidy
|
|
performance given to raise funds
|
See also[edit]
Verb[edit]
benefit (third-person singular simple present benefits, present participle benefiting or benefitting, simple past and past participle benefited or benefitted)
- (transitive) To be or to provide a benefit to.
- Bible, Jer. xviii. 10
- I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
- Bible, Jer. xviii. 10
- (intransitive) To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.
Usage notes[edit]
- Benefiting and benefited are more common, with benefitting and benefitted being a minor variant especially in the US.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from benefit
Related terms[edit]
Terms related to benefit
Translations[edit]
to be or provide a benefit to
|
to receive a benefit
|
|
Italian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from English benefit.
Noun[edit]
benefit m (invariable)
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
benefit
Categories:
- English terms derived from the PIE root *dʰeh₁-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Insurance
- English terms with obsolete senses
- Requests for quotation/Webster (1623)
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- Italian terms borrowed from English
- Italian terms derived from English
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms