English - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ben/
• Rhymes: -ɛn

English - Etymology 1

From Middle English ben, bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, favor, compulsory service”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say”). Related to ban. More at boon.

Alternative forms

• bene

Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. (obsolete) A prayer; a petition.

English - 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.

Preposition

ben

1. (Scotland, Northern England) In, into.
   • 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin 2009, p. 32:

     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.

Adjective

ben (comparative benner, superlative benmost)

1. Inner, interior.

Derived terms

• ben-end, ben-room

Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. (Scotland, Northern England) Ben-room: The inner room of a two-room hut or shack (as opposed to the but).

Derived terms

• but and ben

English - Etymology 3

Probably representing a North African pronunciation of Arabic بان (bān, “ben tree”)

Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.
2. The winged seed of the ben tree.
3. The oil of the ben seed.

Synonyms

• (tree): drumstick tree, horseradish tree, moringa

Derived terms

• ben-nut

Translations

English - Etymology 4

Arabic بن and Hebrew בן (ben, “son”).

Alternative forms

• Ben

Noun

ben (uncountable)

1. (usually capitalised) Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames).

Translations

English - Etymology 5

From Scottish Gaelic beinn

Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.

English - Anagrams

• EbN, NbE, neb, Neb.

Catalan - Adverb

ben

1. alternative form of bé

Usage notes

The form ben is used when it precedes the adjective, adverb or verb form that it modifies, and bé is used in all other cases.

Danish - Etymology

From Old Norse bein (“bone, leg”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Danish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːn/, [b̥eːˀn]

Danish - Noun

ben n (singular definite benet, plural indefinite ben)

1. leg
2. bone

Inflection

Dutch - Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• IPA^(key): /bɛn/

Dutch - Etymology

From Middle Dutch ben, bem, bin, bim, from Old Dutch *bin, *bim (“am”), from Proto-Germanic *beuną (“to be”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to grow, become, appear”). Cognate with German bin (“am”), Old English bīom, bēom (“am”). More at be.

See also German bin.

Dutch - Verb

ben

1. first-person singular present indicative of zijn
2. imperative of zijn

Faroese - Etymology

From Old Norse ben, from Proto-Germanic *banjō.

Faroese - Noun

ben f (genitive singular benjar, plural benjar)

1. wound

Declension

Derived terms

• benjardøgg
• benjarkolvur

French - Etymology

alternative form of bien

French - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑ̃/

French - Interjection

ben

1. well; uh

French - External Links

• “ben” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Friulian - Etymology

From Latin bene.

Friulian - Adverb

ben

1. well
2. properly, nicely

Antonyms

• mâl

Friulian - Noun

ben

1. good

Related terms

• bon

Galician - Etymology

From Latin bene.

Galician - Noun

ben m (plural bens)

1. benefit; welfare
2. (in the plural) goods
3. good (the forces that are the enemy of evil)

Antonyms

• (benefit): beneficio
• (good): mal

Galician - Adverb

ben

1. well
2. very; a lot

Antonyms

• (well): mal

Related terms

• bo

Interlingua - Adverb

ben (comparative melio, superlative le melio)

1. well

Istriot - Etymology

From Latin bene.

Istriot - Adverb

ben

1. well

Italian - Adverb

ben

1. apocopic form of bene

   ben fatto — well done

Derived terms

• ben altro

Japanese - Romanization

ben

1. rōmaji reading of べん

Kurdish - Noun

ben ?

1. string, rope

Related terms

• bend
• benî

Derived terms

• benik
• benk

Ladin - Etymology

From Latin bene.

Ladin - Adverb

ben (Comparative: miec)

1. well
2. properly

Ladin - Noun

ben m (plural bens)

1. (chiefly in the plural) goods, property

Lojban - Rafsi

ben

1. rafsi of besna.

Mandarin - Romanization

ben

1. Nonstandard spelling of bēn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of běn.
3. Nonstandard spelling of bèn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Manx - Etymology

From Old Irish ben, from Proto-Celtic *benā, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn

Manx - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛᵈn/

Manx - Noun

ben f (genitive mreih, plural mraane)

1. woman

Middle English - Verb

bēn

1. to be
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, pages 40–41

     And I seide, “Ser, in his tyme maister Ioon Wiclef was holden of ful many men the grettis clerk that thei knewen lyuynge vpon erthe. And therwith he was named, as I gesse worthili, a passing reuli man and an innocent in al his lyuynge. And herfore grete men of kunnynge and other also drowen myche to him, and comownede ofte with him. And thei sauouriden so his loore that thei wroten it bisili and enforsiden hem to rulen hem theraftir… Maister Ion Aston taughte and wroot acordingli and ful bisili, where and whanne and to whom he myghte, and he vsid it himsilf, I gesse, right perfyghtli vnto his lyues eende. Also Filip of Repintoun whilis he was a chanoun of Leycetre, Nycol Herforde, dane Geffrey of Pikeringe, monke of Biland and a maistir dyuynyte, and Ioon Purueye, and manye other whiche weren holden rightwise men and prudent, taughten and wroten bisili this forseide lore of Wiclef, and conformeden hem therto. And with alle these men I was ofte homli and I comownede with hem long tyme and fele, and so bifore alle othir men I chees wilfulli to be enformed bi hem and of hem, and speciali of Wiclef himsilf, as of the moost vertuous and goodlich wise man that I herde of owhere either knew. And herfore of Wicleef speciali and of these men I toke the lore whiche I haue taughte and purpose to lyue aftir, if God wole, to my lyues ende.”

Middle English - References

• “bēn” listed in the Middle English Dictionary [2001]

Norwegian Bokmål - Alternative Forms

• bein

Norwegian Bokmål - Etymology

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Norwegian Bokmål - Noun

ben n (definite singular benet, indefinite plural ben, definite plural bena or benene)

1. a leg
2. a bone

Norwegian Bokmål - References

• “ben” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Old English - Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *bōniz. Cognate with Old Norse bón.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːn/

Noun

bēn f

1. prayer, praying
2. request, entreaty

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: bene
• English: bee

Old English - Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *banjō. Cognate with Old Norse ben.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ben/

Noun

ben f

1. alternative form of benn

Old Irish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʲen/

Old Irish - Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *benā, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn.

Noun

ben f

1. woman

Descendants

• Irish: bean
• Manx: ben
• Scottish Gaelic: bean

Synonyms

• banscál
• bé
• frac

Old Irish - Etymology 2

Inflected form of benaid.

Verb

·ben

1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of benaid

ben

1. second-person singular imperative of benaid

Old Saxon - Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bainą. Cognate with Old Frisian bēn (West Frisian bien), Old English bān (English bone), Dutch been (“bone, leg”), Old High German bein (German Bein (“leg”)), Old Norse bein (Icelandic bein (“bone”)).

Old Saxon - Noun

bēn n

1. bone

Descendants

• Middle Low German: bēn
  • Low German: Been, Bein

Scots - Etymology 1

Old English binnan.

Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. The inner room of a two-room hut or shack (as opposed to the but).

Adjective

ben (comparative benner, superlative benmaist)

1. Inner, interior.

Preposition

ben

1. Through, in, into (a dwelling).

   I went ben the room.

Scots - Etymology 2

From Scottish Gaelic beinn.

Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. A mountain or hill

Serbo-Croatian - Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish بڭ (beñ).

Serbo-Croatian - Noun

ben m (Cyrillic spelling бен)

1. (regional) birthmark
2. (regional) mole
3. (regional) naevus

Synonyms

• madež

Swedish - Etymology

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Swedish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeːn/

Swedish - Noun

ben n

1. (anatomy) Leg; a body part.
2. Leg; part of trousers which covers the legs.
3. The part of a piece furniture on which it stands.
4. (anatomy) Bone; any of the components of an endoskeleton.
5. (anatomy) Bone; the material of the endoskeleton

Declension

Related terms

Swedish - References

• ben in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)

Turkish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛn/, /bæn/
• Hyphenation: ben

Turkish - Etymology 1

From Old Turkic meŋ, from Proto-Turkic *beŋ (“mole on the face”).

Noun

ben

1. birthmark, mole

Declension

See also

• leke
• yama

Turkish - Etymology 2

From Old Turkic men, from Proto-Turkic.

Pronoun

ben

1. I

See also

Noun

ben

1. (psychology) ego

Declension

• It is one of the two words that have irregular dative and genitive case declension. (The other word is "sen" and also "biz" has irregular genitive case declension)

Venetian - Etymology

From Latin bene.

Venetian - Adverb

ben

1. well

Derived terms

• benon

Volapük - Etymology

Borrowing from Latin bene.

Volapük - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ben]

Volapük - Noun

ben (plural bens)

1. (sense of) well-being, welfare, being well, wellness

Declension

Derived terms

• benik
• benäd (“grace”)
• benädü God (“by God's grace, by the Grace of God”)
• bened (“a blessing”)
• beno (“well”), adv
• benod (“good deed, charitable act, benefit, benefaction”)
• benö!
• benön (“be well, be prosperous”), vi
• benü (“for the benefit of”) (pöfikans (“the poor”))

Related terms

Welsh - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛn/

Welsh - Noun

ben

1. Soft mutation of pen.

Reim