benevolence

See also: bénévolence

English

Etymology

Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“I wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈnɛvələns/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

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Noun

benevolence (countable and uncountable, plural benevolences)

1. (uncountable) Disposition to do good.

   gesture of benevolence

   show benevolence

   spirit of benevolence

   She smiled with benevolence at the children.

   • 1641 or 1642 (first performance), Richard Brome, A Joviall Crew: Or, The Merry Beggars. Presented in a Comedie, […], London: […] J[ames] Y[oung] for E[dward] D[od] and N[athaniel] E[kins] […], published 1652, →OCLC, Act III, signature [H4], recto:

     Benevolence? vvhich ſhall I be benevolent to; or vvhich firſt? I am puſſell'd in the choice.

2. (uncountable) Charitable kindness.

   His acts of benevolence earned him great respect.

3. (countable) An altruistic gift or act.
4. (UK, historical) A kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.

Antonyms

• malevolence

Derived terms

• omnibenevolence
• unbenevolence

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁- (0 c, 16 e)

Translations

disposition to do good

• Arabic: النزعَة إلى الخير m or f
• Bulgarian: доброжела́телност f (dobroželátelnost)
• Catalan: benevolència (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 仁慈 (zh) (réncí), 仁 (zh) (rén), 慈悲 (zh) (cíbēi)

• Danish: velvilje c
• Dutch: welwillendheid (nl) f, goede wil m, gulheid (nl) f
• Finnish: hyväntahtoisuus (fi)
• French: bienveillance (fr) f, bénévolence (fr)
• Galician: largueza f
• German: Gutmütigkeit (de) f, Mildherzigkeit f
• Greek: καλοσύνη (el) f (kalosýni)

  Ancient: φιλανθρωπία f (philanthrōpía)

• Hungarian: jóindulat (hu) sg
• Icelandic: örlæti
• Ido: bonvolo (io)
• Irish: dea-mhéin f
• Japanese: 仁 (ja) (じん, jin), 慈悲 (ja) (じひ, jihi)
• Latin: benevolentia f
• Macedonian: доброна́мерност f (dobronámernost), благонакло́нетост f (blagonaklónetost)
• Old English: welwillendnes f
• Polish: benewolencja f (archaic), łaskawość (pl) f, przychylność (pl) f, życzliwość (pl) f, dobroć (pl) f
• Portuguese: benevolência (pt) f
• Romanian: bunăvoință (ro) f
• Russian: благожела́тельность (ru) f (blagoželátelʹnostʹ), доброжела́тельность (ru) f (dobroželátelʹnostʹ), доброта́ (ru) f (dobrotá), ми́лость (ru) f (mílostʹ)
• Spanish: benevolencia (es) f
• Swedish: välvilja (sv) c
• Turkish: hayırseverlik (tr), yardımseverlik (tr), iyilikseverlik (tr), esirgemezlik (tr), himmet (tr)
• Ukrainian: доброзичли́вість f (dobrozyčlývistʹ), зичли́вість f (zyčlývistʹ)

charitable kindness

• Finnish: anteliaisuus (fi)
• Greek: αγαθοεργία (el) f (agathoergía)
• Hungarian: jótékonyság (hu) sg

altruistic gift or act

• Ottoman Turkish: مساعده (müsâʼade)