adj
Meaning 1
Inner, interior.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
ben
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/bɛn/
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pin-pen-merger: /bɪn/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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homophone: Ben
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homophone: been (some accents)
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homophone: bin (pin–pen merger)
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rhymes with -ɛn
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rhymes with -ɪn
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homophone: ben
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CMU ARPABET: B EH1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Alternative spelling of bene; good.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, alt-of, alternative, obsolete
Qualifier: thieves' cant
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 3
Inside.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 4
A shortening of the male given name Benjamin or, less often, of Benedict.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 5
The capital city of Ben County, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 6
A county of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 7
Alternative form of Beng (“Mande language of Ivory Coast”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
A prayer; a petition.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
The inner room of a two-room cottage (as opposed to the but); the ben room.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 11
The winged seed of the ben tree.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 12
The oil of the ben seed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 13
Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: capitalized, uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 14
A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 15
A benefit (performance to raise funds).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, obsolete, slang
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, theater
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 16
Alternative form of bin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 17
A US$100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
Meaning 18
In, into.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 19
a mountain or tall hill
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- they were climbing the ben
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mountain, mount
History
Etymology
From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- + in.
c. 16th century. Probably from Latin bene or Italian bene.
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bōjana Proto-Indo-European *-nis Proto-Germanic *-niz Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *-nis Proto-Indo-European *bheh2-ni-s Proto-Germanic *bōniz Proto-West Germanic *bōni Old English bēn Middle English ben, beneder. English ben 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.
From Middle English been, from Old French and Medieval Latin, probably from a North African pronunciation of Arabic بَان (bān, “ben tree”).
From Arabic بِن (bin) and Hebrew בן (ben, “son”).
Borrowed from Scots ben, benn, from Scottish Gaelic beinn.
Shortening.
Across languages
Translations
9 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Persian: بن (ben) — city in Iran
- Arabic: بَان (bān) — ben tree
- Russian: мори́нга (morínga) — ben tree
- Russian: мориндо́вое ма́сло (morindóvoje máslo) — oil of ben
- Arabic: بِن (bin) — son of
- Arabic: اِبْن (ibn) — son of
- Hebrew: בן (ben) — son of
- Ladino: ben — son of
- Persian: بن — son of