English

Proper noun

Ben

1. A shortening of the male given name Benjamin or, less often, of Benedict.

Derived terms

• Big Ben

Noun

Ben ‎(plural Bens)

1. (US, slang) A US$100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money.

Synonyms

• Benjamin

Anagrams

• EbN
• NbE
• neb, Neb.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bɛn]

Proper noun

Ben m ‎(genitive Bens)

1. A male given name, short for Benjamin.

German Low German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛɪ̯n/

Noun

Ben n (plural Bener or Benen)

1. Alternative spelling of Been : leg

Noun

Ben n (plural has not been set)

1. Alternative spelling of Been : bone (as material)
2. Alternative spelling of Been : bones; a skeleton or skeletons

English

Alternative forms

• bene

Noun

ben ‎(plural bens)

1. (obsolete) A prayer; a petition.

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, page 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.

Adverb

ben ‎(not comparable)

1. (Scotland, Northern England) inside.

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

References

• The Dictionary of the Scots Language

Etymology 3

Probably representing a North African pronunciation of Arabic بَان ‎(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

Etymology 4

From Arabic بن and Hebrew בן ‎(ben, “son”).

Alternative forms

• Ben
• bin (Arabic)

Noun

ben ‎(uncountable)

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

Translations

Etymology 5

Borrowing from Scots [Term?], from Scottish Gaelic beinn

Noun

ben ‎(plural bens)

1. A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.

Etymology 6

UK C16. Probably from Latin bene or Italian bene.

Adjective

ben ‎(comparative benar, superlative benat)

1. (archaic, Britain, cant) Alternative spelling of bene; good.
   • 1611, Middleton, Thomas, The Roaring Girle:

     A gage of ben Rom-bouse, / In a bousing-ken of Rom-vile, / Is benar than a Caster, / Pecke, pennam, lay, or popler, / Which we mill in deuse a vile.

     A pot of good wine, / In a pub of London, / Is better than a cloak, / Meat, bread, milk, or porridge, / Which we steal in the countryside.

Anagrams

• EbN, NbE, neb, Neb.

Amele

Adjective

ben

1. big

Noun

ben

1. a big thing

References

• Pavol Štekauer, Salvador Valera, Lívia Kőrtvélyessy, Word-Formation in the World's Languages: A Typological Survey (2012)

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːn/, [b̥eːˀn]

Noun

ben n (singular definite benet, plural indefinite ben)

1. leg
2. bone

Declension

References

• “ben” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• IPA^(key): /bɛn/

Verb

ben

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

Usage notes

Ben, as an imperative, is considered non-standard, the standard form being wees.

Synonyms

• (imperative) wees

References

• Taaladvies.net on ‘wees’ or ‘ben’

Faroese

Etymology

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

Noun

ben n (genitive singular bens, plural ben)

1. wound

Declension

Noun

ben f (genitive singular benjar, plural benjar)

1. wound

Declension

Derived terms

• benjardøgg
• benjarkolvur

French

Etymology

Alternative form of bien

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛ̃/

Interjection

ben

1. well; uh

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben

1. well
2. properly, nicely

Antonyms

• mâl

Noun

ben

1. good

Related terms

• bon

Galician

Etymology

From Latin bene.

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

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.

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

Derived terms

• benik
• benk

Related terms

• bend
• benî

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben ‎(comparative miec)

1. well
2. properly

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛᵈn/

Noun

ben f ‎(genitive singular mreih, plural mraane)

1. woman

Mutation

References

• “1 ben” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

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.”

References

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• bein

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. a leg
2. a bone

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 ‎(nominative plural bēne or bēna)

1. prayer, praying
2. request, entreaty

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: bene
• English: bee

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ben/

Noun

ben f

1. Alternative form of benn

Old French

Adverb

ben

1. (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of bien

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʲen/

Etymology 1

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

Noun

ben f ‎(genitive mná, nominative plural mná)

1. woman

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Synonyms

• banscál
• bé
• frac

Derived terms

• benacán m ‎(“(little) woman”)

Descendants

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

Etymology 2

Ultimately from Hebrew בֵּן ‎(ben).

Noun

ben ?

1. son

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Synonyms

• macc

Etymology 3

Non-lemma forms.

Verb

·ben

1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of benaid

Verb

ben

1. second-person singular imperative of benaid

Mutation

References

• “1 ben” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “benaid” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Old Provençal

Etymology

Latin bene.

Adjective

ben

1. well

References

• (fr)(de) bene in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (Walther von Wartburg, 2002)

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”)).

Noun

bēn n

1. bone

Descendants

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

Old Swedish

Etymology

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

Noun

bēn n

1. bone
2. leg

Declension

Descendants

• Swedish: ben

Scots

Etymology 1

From 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.

Etymology 2

Borrowing from Scottish Gaelic beinn.

Noun

ben ‎(plural bens)

1. mountain, hill

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowing from Ottoman Turkish بڭ ‎(beñ).

Noun

ben m ‎(Cyrillic spelling бен)

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

Synonyms

• madež

Swedish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeːn/

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

References

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

Turkish

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish بك ‎(beŋ, “mole”), from Proto-Turkic *beŋ ‎(“mole on the face”).^[1]

Cognate with Old Turkic [script needed] ‎(meŋ), Bashkir миң ‎(miñ), Kyrgyz мең ‎(meñ), Turkmen meň, Yakut мэҥ ‎(meŋ). Also compare Mongolian мэнгэ ‎(menge, “mole, birthmark”).

Noun

ben ‎(definite accusative beni, plural benler)

1. birthmark, mole

Related terms

• benek

Derived terms

• benli
• bensiz

Declension

See also

• leke
• yama

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish بن ‎(ben, “I”), from Proto-Turkic *bẹ-n ‎(“I”).^[2]

Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰢𐰤 ‎(M²N², men), 𐰋𐰤 ‎(B²N², ben, “I”), Bashkir мин ‎(min), Chuvash эпӗ ‎(epĕ), Kazakh, Karachay-Balkar, Kyrgyz мен ‎(men), Turkmen men. Turkish is the only Turkic language to preserve the Proto-Turkic *b-.

Pronoun

ben

1. I

See also

Noun

ben ‎(definite accusative beni, plural biz)

1. (psychology) ego

Related terms

• biz
• bana

Derived terms

• bencil
• benlik
• benimsemek
• albeni
• benmerkezci

Declension

Usage notes

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

References

1. ↑ Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*beŋ”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill
2. ↑ Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*bẹ-”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

Venetian

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben

1. well

Derived terms

• benon

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin bene.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ben]

Noun

ben ‎(plural bens)

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

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛn/

Noun

ben

1. Soft mutation of pen.

Mutation