benevolence
/bəˈnevələns/buh-NEH-vuh-luhns
/bəˈnɛvələns/buh-NEH-vuh-luhns
Meaningkindness
Common meaning: kindness
- benewellSkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. 46 · scan
- volenceto wish, be willingLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 2011 · scan
‘well’ + ‘to wish, be willing’ → benevolence
Journey through time
- bene — Latin bene- “well” (path traced)
- volence — Latin volō, velle “to wish, be willing” (path traced)
Parts join in Latin as benevolentia.
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 benevolentia, which Skeat (Concise Dictionary, 1911) analyses as bene- ‘well’ + uolentem ‘to wish, be willing’.
Roots
- benevolentia Latin “kindness”
- volō, velle Latin “to wish, be willing”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app