benefit

• benefite (obsolete)

From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of benfet, bienfet, bienfait (“good or noble deed”), from Anglo-Norman benfet (“well-done”), Middle French bienfait, from Old French bienfet, bienfait (“foredeal, favour”), from past participle of bienfaire (“to do good, do well”), from bien (“well”) + faire (“to do”), modelled after Latin benefactum (“good deed”). More at benefactor.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛn.ɪ.fɪt/
• (US) enPR: bĕn'əfĭt, IPA^(key): /ˈbɛn.ə.fɪt/

• Audio (US):

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benefit (countable and uncountable, plural benefits)

1. An advantage; help or aid from something.

   She can't read, so the voice recording was made for her benefit.

   Exposure to cutting-edge technologies is one of the benefits of the job.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.

   • 1954 April, A. R. G. Hawkins, “The Easingwold Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 271:

     For the trip over the grass-covered sleepers and between the cow-parsley and briars, an open wagon was added to the usual combination of locomotive and coach, for the benefit of those who wanted to take photographs.

2. (insurance) A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
3. An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
   • 1978 April 8, Eric Rogers, “People, Places and Flings”, in Gay Community News, page 13:

     Gore Vidal […] will be sharing his wit and wisdom at the Arlington Street Church on Wednesday, April 5th at 7:00. The appearance is a benefit for the Boston/Boise Committee and the tickets are priced at $5.

4. (obsolete) beneficence; liberality
   • 1612–1613 (date written), John Webster, The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy. , London: Nicholas Okes, for Iohn Waterson, , published 1623, →OCLC, Act III, scene v, signature , recto:

     The Birds, that liue i'th field / On the vvilde Benefit of nature, liue / Happier then vve; for they may chooſe their Mates, / And carroll their ſvveet pleaſures to the Spring: […]

5. Intended audience (as for the benefit of).

   The whole scene was staged for his benefit, and it completely fooled him.

   Since my wife is Canadian, whenever we have dinner with my family, they keep bringing up anything they've heard about Canada lately for her benefit.

   • 2020 April 16, Gary D.D. Morrison, J.S.C., “Succession de Kalimbet Piela c. Obodzinski, 2020 QCCS 1222”, in CanLII‎, retrieved 9 May 2021:

     So, if Obodzinski is correct in saying that Mrs. Piela actually signed a document in the coffee shop, in front of witnesses, she staged a scene, pretending that it was the alleged Mandate. The other explanation is that none of this ever took place, and the staging was only a fictitious creation for the benefit of the Court.

• (advantage, help): foredeal, advantage, aid, assistance, boon, help
• (payment): subsidy

• (antonym(s) of “advantage, help”): harm, disadvantage, encumbrance, hindrance, malefit, nuisance, obstacle, detriment

• lagniappe

benefit (third-person singular simple present benefits, present participle benefiting or benefitting, simple past and past participle benefited or benefitted)

1. (transitive) To be or to provide a benefit to.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Jeremiah 18:10:

     […] I will repent of the good; wherewith I saide I would benefite them.

2. (intransitive) To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.
   • 1960 June, “Talking of Trains: New B.R. research laboratory”, in Trains Illustrated, page 329:

     Diesel maintenance schedules are benefiting from work done on the magnificent Hilger & Watts electronic spectrograph for oil analysis, which detects minute quantities of metals in samples of used lubricating oil; [...].

   • 2021 January 13, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London's Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 63:

     Instead, the grime of the steam years which still discoloured many of the best architectural features Betjeman loved has been cleared away, and several of the stations have benefited from major refurbishments which have greatly improved them.

   • 2023 September 14, Grazia Contributor, “This Is Why Katy Perry’s Sexuality Can Be A Controversial Talking Point”, in Grazia‎:

     Although Katy has admitted to being bi-curious in the past, the reason a lot of fans wanted clarity on her sexuality was to ensure she wasn't queer-baiting and benefiting from a culture she isn't actually part of.

• Benefiting and benefited are more common, with benefitting and benefitted being minor variants, more so in North America.

• help, batten, behoove

• malefic
• detriment

Unadapted borrowing from English benefit.

benefit m (invariable)

1. benefit, advantage

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key):
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key):

benefit

1. third-person singular present passive indicative of benefaciō