English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”). Cognate with Danish bøn (“prayer”), Swedish bön (“prayer”), Icelandic bæn (“prayer”), Icelandic bón (“request”). Related to ban. See also boon, bee.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

bene (plural benes)

  1. (now chiefly dialectal) A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon.

Etymology 2

Noun

bene (uncountable)

  1. Alternative form of benne (“sesame”).

Etymology 3

UK C16. Probably from Latin bene or Italian bene.

Alternative forms

Adjective

bene (comparative benar, superlative benat)

  1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Good. [16th–19th c.]
    • 1828, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 383:
      Egad, you carry a bene blink aloft. Come to the ken alone—no! my blowen; did not I tell you I should bring a pater cove, to chop up the whiners for Dawson?
Synonyms
Derived terms

Noun

bene (plural benes)

  1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Tongue. [16th–18th c.]
    Stowe your bene!

References

  • [Francis Grose] (1788), “Bene”, in A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 2nd edition, London: […] S. Hooper, […], →OCLC.
  • Albert Barrère and Charles G[odfrey] Leland, compilers and editors (1889–1890), “bene”, in A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant […], volume I (A–K), Edinburgh: […] The Ballantyne Press, →OCLC, page 107.
  • John S[tephen] Farmer, compiler (1890), “bene”, in Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present. […], volume I, [London: […] Thomas Poulter and Sons] […], →OCLC, pages 178–179.
  • Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang. Routledge, 1973. →ISBN.

Etymology 4

Clipping of eggs benedict

Alternative forms

Noun

bene (plural benes)

  1. (food) Abbreviation of eggs Benedict, an egg dish

Etymology 5

Verb

bene

  1. Misspelling of been.
    That would of[sic] bene a good idea...

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Noun

bene

  1. plural of been

Corsican

Pronunciation

Noun

bene m

  1. alternative form of bè

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

bene

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of benen

Anagrams

French

Etymology

    Borrowed from Italian bene.

    Pronunciation

    Adverb

    bene

    1. (colloquial) well

    Gullah

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    bene

    1. sesame

    References

    • Lorenzo Dow Turner, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1969)

    Italian

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

      Inherited from Latin bene.

      Pronunciation

      Adjective

      bene (invariable)

      1. upper-class, posh, high
        Parioli è il quartiere bene di Roma per eccellenza.
        Parioli is the posh Rome neighborhood par excellence.

      Adverb

      bene (comparative meglio, superlative benissimo)

      1. well, nicely, OK, right
        Antonym: male
        Non è necessario spendere una fortuna per mangiare bene.
        You don’t need to spend a fortune to eat well.
      2. properly, correctly, rightly
        Synonym: correttamente
        Antonyms: erratamente, erroneamente
        La mia lavatrice non funziona bene, qualcuno mi può aiutare?
        My washing machine isn't working properly, can anybody help me?
      3. thoroughly, carefully
        Synonyms: attentamente, minuziosamente
        Leggere bene le istruzioni prima dell'uso.
        Read the instructions carefully before use.
      4. as much as, as many as
        Synonym: valore di
        Gli agricoltori della Luisiana hanno subito una perdita di ben 450 milioni di dollari a causa dell'uragano Gustav.
        Louisiana farmers face lost income of as much as $450 million because of Hurricane Gustav.

      Derived terms

      Interjection

      bene

      1. good!; fine!
        Bene! Sono proprio felice che hai avuto delle buone notizie!
        Good! I'm so glad you got some good news!

      Noun

      bene m (plural beni)

      1. good
        Antonym: male
        L'eterna lotta tra il bene e il male.
        The eternal struggle between good and evil.
      2. (usually in the plural) goods, property, possessions, belongings, assets
        Synonyms: proprietà, possedimenti
        Dopo il suo secondo infarto, Mario vendette tutti i suoi beni ed andò in Nepal.
        Following his second heart attack, Mario had sold all his property and left for Nepal.
      3. sake, good
        Antonym: male
        Lo faccio per il tuo bene!
        I'm doing this for your sake!
      4. happiness
        Synonym: felicità
        Antonym: tristezza
        Auguro ogni bene a te e alla tua famiglia.
        Wish you and your family every happiness.
      5. sweetheart, darling, love, bless someone's cotton socks
        Synonyms: amore, tesoro, amato
        Sei il mio bene! ― You are my sweetheart!
      6. asset

      Derived terms

      References

      1. ^ “bene” in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

      Further reading

      Latin

      Etymology

        From Archaic Latin *duenēd, derived from duenos (“good”) (source of Classical Latin bonus), from Proto-Italic *dwenos.[1]

        Pronunciation

        Adverb

        bene (comparative melius, superlative optimē)

        1. well
          Antonym: male
          Tibi bene ex animo volo.
          I wish you well with all my heart.
        2. properly, exactly
        3. agreeably, favorably

        Derived terms

        Descendants

        References

        1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “bonus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 73-74: “Derivatives > line 1 > benē̆ 'well'”

        Further reading

        • “bene”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
        • “bene”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
        • "bene", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
        • “bene”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
        • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
          • so-and-so is in a very satisfactory position; prospers: agitur praeclare, bene cum aliquo
          • the matter progresses favourably, succeeds: aliquid (bene, prospere) succedit or procedit (opp. parum procedere, non succedere)
          • for a life of perfect happiness: ad bene beateque vivendum
          • to deserve well at some one's hands; to do a service to..: bene, praeclare (melius, optime) mereri de aliquo
          • I wish you all success in the matter: bene id tibi vertat!
          • you were right in...; you did right to..: recte, bene fecisti quod...
          • to have a good or bad reputation, be spoken well, ill of: bene, male audire (ab aliquo)
          • a good Latin scholar: bene latine doctus or sciens
          • to receive a liberal education: liberaliter, ingenue, bene educari
          • he is a young man of great promise: adulescens alios bene de se sperare iubet, bonam spem ostendit or alii de adulescente bene sperare possunt
          • to inculcate good (bad) principles: bene (male) praecipere alicui
          • to cross-examine cleverly, put leading questions: bene interrogare
          • that Greek proverb contains an excellent lesson: bene illo Graecorum proverbio praecipitur
          • to hope well of a person: bene, optime (meliora) sperare de aliquo (Nep. Milt. 1. 1)
          • a good conscience: conscientia recta, recte facti (factorum), virtutis, bene actae vitae, rectae voluntatis
          • a good conscience: mens bene sibi conscia
          • a moral (immoral) man: homo bene (male) moratus
          • a sound and sensible system of conduct: vitae ratio bene ac sapienter instituta
          • with the help of the gods: dis bene iuvantibus (Fam. 7. 20. 2)
          • and may God grant success: quod deus bene vertat!
          • to bless (curse) a person: precari alicui bene (male) or omnia bona (mala), salutem
          • to manage one's affairs, household, property well or ill: rem bene (male) gerere (vid. sect. XVI. 10a)
          • your health: bene tibi or te!
          • to entertain, regale a person: accipere aliquem (bene, copiose, laute, eleganter, regio apparatu, apparatis epulis)
          • a safe journey to you: bene ambula et redambula
          • good men of business: negotii bene gerentes (Quint. 19. 62)
          • to buy cheaply: parvo, vili pretio or bene emere
          • to have the good of the state at heart: bene, optime sentire de re publica
          • a success; a glorious feat of arms: res bene gesta
          • to win, lose a fight (of the commander): rem (bene, male) gerere (vid. sect. XII. 2, note rem gerere...)
          • I am sorry to hear..: male (opp. bene) narras (de)
        • “bene”, in The Perseus Project (1999), Perseus Encyclopedia‎[2]
        • “bene”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

        Middle Dutch

        Noun

        bêne

        1. inflection of bêen:
          1. dative singular
          2. nominative/accusative/genitive plural

        Middle English

        Etymology 1

          From Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō. The final vowel is generalised from the Old English inflected forms.

          Alternative forms

          Pronunciation

          Noun

          bene (plural benes)

          1. bean
          Descendants
          References

          Etymology 2

            From Old English bēn, bōn.

            Alternative forms

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            bene (plural benes or benen)

            1. request, entreaty
            2. favor, boon, gift
            Descendants
            References

            Old English

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            bēne

            1. inflection of bēn:
              1. accusative/genitive/dative singular
              2. nominative/accusative plural

            Sardinian

            Etymology

            From Latin bene (“well”). Compare Italian bene.

            Adjective

            bene

            1. well

            Adverb

            bene

            1. well

            West Makian

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            bene

            1. louse

            References

            • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[3], Pacific linguistics