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בן. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
בן, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
בן in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
בן you have here. The definition of the word
בן will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
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Hebrew
Etymology 1
From Proto-Semitic *bin-.
Pronunciation
Noun
בֵּן • (bén) m (plural indefinite בָּנִים, singular construct בֶּן־, plural construct בְּנֵי־, feminine counterpart בַּת)
- A son.
- (no longer productive) A direct male descendant.
- בן אדם ― bén-adám ― a human
- בן ישראל ― bén-yisraél ― an Israelite
- A guy, a boy.
- (no longer productive, construct state) Possessor of (knowledge, ability, etc.)
- בן דעת ― bén dá'at ― someone legally competent
- בן תורה ― bén torá ― someone devoted to the Torah
- (construct state) Used in expressing the age of a man, a boy, or the referent of a masculine noun: age, aged.
- הוא בן שש. ― hú bén shésh. ― He is six years old.
Tanach, Genesis 7:6, with translation of Robert Alter:וְנֹ֕חַ בֶּן־שֵׁ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וְהַמַּבּ֣וּל הָיָ֔ה מַ֖יִם עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃- Noah was six hundred years old when the Flood came, water over the earth.
- 2011 September 28, Nir Hasson (ניר חסון), in Haaretz online:
בית קברות בן 4,000 שנה שופך אור על י-ם בתקופת הברונזה- béit-k'varót bén 4,000 shaná shofékh ór ál y-m bit'kufát-hab'rónza
- 4,000-year-old cemetery sheds light on Bronze-Age Jerusalem
Usage notes
- In colloquial Modern Hebrew, the plural יְלָדִים is generally used to refer to children (of mixed or unknown sex) while בָּנִים is generally used to refer to boys.
- When constructing new forms, the Aramaic loanword בַּר (bar) is more common, e.g. בַּר דַּעַת (bar dá'at), בַּר קַיָּמָא (bar kayamá).
Declension
Derived terms
Proper noun
בֵּן • (bén) m
- a male given name, Ben
Derived terms
Terms derived from the word בן
- בֶּן אָדָם (ben adám, “human being”)
- בֶּן בַּיִת (ben báyit, “roommate”)
- בֶּן בְּלִיַּעַל (ben bliyá'al, “roughneck, scoundrel”)
- בֶּן בְּרִית (ben brit, “ally”)
- בֶּן גִּיל (ben gil, “of age”)
- בֶּן דּוֹד (ben dod, “cousin”)
- בֶּן זוּג (ben zug, “spouse”)
- בֶּן זוֹנָה (ben zona, “son of a bitch, motherfucker, badass”)
- בֶּן הַזְּמַן (ben hazmán, “contemporary”)
- בֶּן זְקוּנִים (ben ziquním, “youngest child”)
- בֶּן חוֹרִין (ben ḥorín, “freeman”)
- בֶּן טוֹבִים (ben tovím, “one from a good family”)
- בִּנְיָמִין (binyamín, “Benjamin”)
- בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (bnei yisraél, “Israelites”)
- בִּן לַיְלָה (bin láyla, “overnight”)
- בֵּן מֶלֶךְ (bén mélech, “prince”)
- בֶּן מִשְׁפָּחָה (ben mishpakhá)
- בֶּן עֲרֻבָּה (ben arubá, “hostage”)
- בֶּן פּוֹרָת יוֹסֵף (ben porát yoséf)
- בִּן רֶגַע (bin regá', “instantly”)
- בֶּן תּוֹרָה (ben torá)
- בֶּן תְּמוּתָה (ben tmutá, “mortal”)
- בֶּן תַּעֲרוֹבֶת (ben ta'aróvet, “mixed breed”)
- בֶּן תַּרְבּוּת (ben tarbút, “cultured person”)
Etymology 2
Verb
בָּן • (bán) third-singular masculine past (pa'al construction)
- (rare, archaic) to understand.
Conjugation
Etymology 3
Preposition
בָּן • (ban)
- (poetic or archaic) Form of בְּ־ (b'-) including third-person feminine plural personal pronoun as object.