ben

Etymology 1

From Middle English ben, bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, favor, compulsory service”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say”). Related to ban. More at boon.

noun

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.

prep

1. (Scotland, Northern England) In, into.
   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. 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 32

adv

1. (Scotland, Northern England) Inside.

adj

1. Inner, interior.

noun

1. (Scotland, Northern England) Ben-room: The inner room of a two-room hut or shack (as opposed to the but).

Etymology 3

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

noun

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.

Etymology 4

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

noun

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

Etymology 5

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

noun

1. A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.

Etymology 6

UK C16. Probably from Latin bene or Italian bene.

adj

1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Alternative spelling of bene; good.
   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. [paraphrase] 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. 1611, Thomas Middleton, The Roaring Girle

Etymology 7

Shortening.

noun

1. (UK, theater, slang, obsolete) A benefit (performance to raise funds).
   In the Chronicles of the Stage, some curious particulars are given relating to Sir Henry Herbert and the well-known Sir William Davidson, by which we learn, amongst other things, that a “ben” or benefit at Drury Lane, two centuries ago, was worth a hundred pounds. year?, The Catholic Literary Circular (page 75)