benevolence
See also: bénévolence
English
editEtymology
editCirca 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“I wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).[1]
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /bəˈnɛvələns/
Audio (Southern England): (file) Audio (Mid-Atlantic US): (file)
Noun
editbenevolence (countable and uncountable, plural benevolences)
- (uncountable) Disposition to do good.
- (uncountable) Charitable kindness.
- (countable) An altruistic gift or act.
- (UK, historical) A kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.
Antonyms
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editdisposition to do good
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charitable kindness
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altruistic gift or act
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References
edit- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “benevolence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁-
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- English terms with historical senses