benefactor
/ˈbenəˌfæktə/BEH-nuh-fak-tur
/ˈbɛnəˌfæktɚ/BEH-nuh-fak-tur
Meaninga good-doer
Common meaning: one who gives help or money
- benewellLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 229 · scan
- factto make; to cause to happenLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 716 · scan
- oragent ending: the doer, or the device that does it
‘well’ + ‘to make’ → benefactor
Journey through time
- bene — Latin bene “well” (path traced)
- fact — Latin faciō, fēcī, factum “to make; to cause to happen” (path traced)
- Latinbene + faciō, fēcī, factum‘well + to make’
- Englishbenefactor‘one who gives help or money’ · today
bene also in: benefitbenevolentbenediction
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin bene ‘well’ + Latin faciō ‘to make; to cause to happen’.
Did you know (Benefit, benefactor, effect,…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry faciō, p. 716 · dictionary scan
Did you know (Latin bene, well,…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry bene, p. 229 · dictionary scan
Roots
- bene Latin “well”
- faciō, fēcī, factum Latin “to make; to cause to happen”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app