ben
/bɛn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.69 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep
In, into.
adv
noun
The inner room of a two-room cottage (as opposed to the but); the ben room.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "Bert Kerston was awakened by a steady tap on the ben window."
- "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."
- "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."
- "Ben wolved down a digestive biscuit, then stretched out on his stomach on the flagstones beside them."
- "After a moment of comfortable silence, with Ben tenderly rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand, he asked, “So what do you want to do now that you’re all stuffed full of waffley goodness?”"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bōjana Proto-Indo-European *-nis Proto-Germanic *-niz Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-nis Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-ni-s Proto-Germanic *bōniz Proto-West Germanic *bōni Old English bēn Middle English ben, beneder. English ben From Middle English ben, bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, favor, compulsory service”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōni, from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say”). Related to ban. More at boon.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Obsolete
- Uncountable
- British usage
- Slang
- American usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.