benefit

Etymology

From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of benfet, bienfet, bienfait (“good or noble deed”), from Anglo-Norman benfet (“well-done”), Middle French bienfait, from Old French bienfet, bienfait (“foredeal, favour”), from past participle of bienfaire (“to do good, do well”), from bien (“well”) + faire (“to do”), modelled after Latin benefactum (“good deed”). More at benefactor.

noun

1. An advantage; help or aid from something.
   She can't read, so the voice recording was made for her benefit.
   Exposure to cutting-edge technologies is one of the benefits of the job.
2. (insurance) A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
3. An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
4. (obsolete) beneficence; liberality
5. Intended audience (as for the benefit of).
   The whole scene was staged for his benefit, and it completely fooled him.
   Since my wife is Canadian, whenever we have dinner with my family, they keep bringing up anything they've heard about Canada lately for her benefit.
   So, if Obodzinski is correct in saying that Mrs. Piela actually signed a document in the coffee shop, in front of witnesses, she staged a scene, pretending that it was the alleged Mandate. The other explanation is that none of this ever took place, and the staging was only a fictitious creation for the benefit of the Court. 16 April 2020, Gary D.D. Morrison, J.S.C., “Succession de Kalimbet Piela c. Obodzinski, 2020 QCCS 1222”, in CanLII, retrieved 2021-05-09

verb

1. (transitive) To be or to provide a benefit to.
2. (intransitive) To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.
   Diesel maintenance schedules are benefiting from work done on the magnificent Hilger & Watts electronic spectrograph for oil analysis, which detects minute quantities of metals in samples of used lubricating oil; …. 1960 June, “Talking of Trains: New B.R. research laboratory”, in Trains Illustrated, page 329
   Instead, the grime of the steam years which still discoloured many of the best architectural features Betjeman loved has been cleared away, and several of the stations have benefited from major refurbishments which have greatly improved them. January 13 2021, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London's Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 63