benevolence

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See also: bénévolence

English

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Etymology

Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“I wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bəˈnɛvələns/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio (Mid-Atlantic)(file)

Noun

benevolence (countable and uncountable, plural benevolences)

  1. (uncountable) Disposition to do good.
  2. (uncountable) Charitable kindness.
  3. (countable) An altruistic gift or act.
  4. (UK, historical) A kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.

Antonyms

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *welh₁-‎ (0 c, 15 e)

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “benevolence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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