benign

Etymology

From Middle English benigne, benygne, from Old French benigne, from Latin benignus (“kind, good”), from bene (“well”) + genus (“origin, kind”). Compare malign.

adj

  1. Kind; gentle; mild.
  2. (of a climate or environment) mild and favorable
  3. (in combination) Not harmful to the environment.
    an ozone-benign refrigerant
  4. (medicine) Not posing any serious threat to health; not particularly aggressive or recurrent.
    a benign tumor

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