Standard Lemma guide

benison

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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.

  • /ˈbɛnɪsən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • obsolete: /ˈbɛnɪzʌn/
  • obsolete: /ˈbɛnɪzən/
  • rhymes with -ɛnɪsən

1

noun

Meaning 1

A blessing; benediction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: literary

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a spoken blessing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: benediction, blessing

History

Etymology

From Middle English benysoun, beneson, borrowed from Old French beneïson, from Latin benedictiō, benedictiōnem. First known use: 14th century. Doublet of benediction.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: благослови́я (blagoslovíja) — blessing
  • Galician: beizón — blessing
  • German: Segen — blessing
  • Russian: благослове́ние (blagoslovénije) — blessing