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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

ben

/bɛn/
A prayer; a petition.

    Etymology graph

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    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    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.

    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.

    Etymology 3

    From Middle English been, from Old French and Medieval Latin, probably from a North African pronunciation of Arabic بَان (bān, “ben tree”).

    Etymology 4

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

    Etymology 5

    Borrowed from Scots ben, benn, from Scottish Gaelic beinn.

    Etymology 7

    Shortening.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • derivedMiddle Englishbene
      • inheritedOld Englishbēn “prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*bōni
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*bōniz “prayer, request, supplication”
            • partProto-Germanic*bōjana
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-ni-s
              • partProto-Indo-European*-nis
            • partProto-Germanic*-niz
    • rootProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂- “to speak”
    • derivedMiddle Englishben
      • derivedOld Englishbinnan “within, in, inside of, into”
    • prefixEnglishbe- “By, near, next to, around, close to.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishbi-
        • inheritedOld Englishbe- “be-”
        • derivedOld Englishbī- “by, near, around”
    • surface analysisEnglishin “Contained by; inside.”
    • rootArabicب و ن
    • inheritedMiddle Englishbeen “to be”
      • derivedArabicبَان “ben tree”
    • derivedArabicبِن “son”
      • derivedHebrewבן “son”
    • borrowedScotsben, benn
      • derivedScottish Gaelicbeinn “peak”
        • derivedScottish GaelicMacDuibh

    Meanings

    noun
    1. A prayer; a petition.
    prep
    1. In, into.
    adv
    1. Inside.
    adj
    1. Inner, interior.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: ben