Chapter 37

BeÏnef¶iÏcentÏly (?), adv. In a beneficent manner; with beneficence. Ben·eÏfi¶cial (?), a. [Cf. F. b‚n‚ficial, LL. beneficialis.] 1. Conferring benefits; useful; profi?table; helpful; advantageous; serviceable; contributing to a valuable end; Ð followed by to. The war which would have been most beneficial to us. Swift. 2. (Law) Receiving, or entitled to have or receive, advantage, use, or benefit; as, the beneficial owner of an estate. Kent. 3. King. [Obs.] ½A beneficial foe.¸ B. Jonson. Syn. Ð See Advantage. Ben·eÏfi¶cialÏly, adv. In a beneficial or advantageous manner; profitably; helpfully. Ben·eÏfi¶cialÏness, n. The quality of being beneficial; profitableness. Ben·eÏfi¶ciÏaÏry (?), a. [Cf. F. b‚n‚ficiaire, LL. beneficiarius.] 1. Holding some office or valuable possession, in subordination to another; holding under a feudal or other superior; having a dependent and secondary possession. A feudatory or beneficiary king of England. Bacon. 2. Bestowed as a gratuity; as, beneficiary gifts. Ben·eÏfi¶ciÏaÏry, n.; pl. Beneficiaries (?). 1. A feudatory or vassal; hence, one who holds a benefice and uses its proceeds. Ayliffe. 2. One who receives anything as a gift; one who receives a benefit or advantage; esp. one who receives help or income from an educational fund or a trust estate. The rich men will be offering sacrifice to their Deity whose beneficiaries they are. Jer. Taylor. Ben·eÏfi¶ciÏate (?), v. t. [Sp. beneficiar to benefit, to work mines.] (Mining) To reduce (ores). Ð Ben·eÏfi·ciÏa¶tion (?), n. Ben·eÏfi¶cient (?), a. Beneficent. [Obs.] Ben¶eÏfit (?), n. [OE. benefet, benfeet, bienfet, F. bienfait, fr. L. benefactum; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + factum, p. p. of facere to do. See Bounty, and Fact.] 1. An act of kindness; a favor conferred. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps. ciii. 2. 2. Whatever promotes prosperity and personal happiness, or adds value to property; advantage; profit. Men have no right to what is not for their benefit. Burke. 3. A theatrical performance, a concert, or the like, the proceeds of which do not go to the lessee of the theater or to the company, but to some individual actor, or to some charitable use. 4. Beneficence; liberality. [Obs.] Webster (1623). 5. pl. Natural advantaged; endowments; accomplishments. [R.] ½The benefits of your own country.¸ Shak. Benefit of clergy. (Law) See under Clergy. Syn. Ð Profit; service; use; avail. See Advantage. Ben¶eÏfit, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Benefited; p. pr. & vb. n. Benefitting.] To be beneficial to; to do good to; to advantage; to advance in health or prosperity; to be useful to; to profit. I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Jer. xviii. 10. Ben¶eÏfit, v. i. To gain advantage; to make improvement; to profit; as, he will benefit by the change. Ben¶eÏfit·er (?), n. One who confers a benefit; Ð also, one who receives a benefit. BeÏneme¶ (?), v. t. [AS. ben?man. Cf. Benim.] To deprive (of), or take away (from). [Obs.] BeÏnempt¶ (?), p. p. of Bename. 1. Promised; vowed. [Obs.] Spenser. 2. Named; styled. [Archaic] Sir W. Scott. ØBe·ne plac¶iÏto (?). [It. beneplacito pleasure, fr. L. bene well + placitus pleasing.] 1. At or during pleasure. For our English judges there never was ... any bene placito as their tenure. F. Harrison. 2. (Mus.) At pleasure; ad libitum. BeÏnet¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Benetted.] To catch in a net; to insnare. Shak. BeÏnev¶oÏlence (?), n. [OF. benevolence, L. benevolentia. See Benevolent.] 1. The disposition to do good; good will; charitableness; love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. The wakeful benevolence of the gospel. Chalmers. 2. An act of kindness; good done; charity given. 3. A species of compulsory contribution or tax, which has sometimes been illegally exacted by arbitrary kings of England, and falsely represented as a gratuity. Syn. Ð Benevolence, Beneficence, Munificence. Benevolence marks a disposition made up of a choice and desire for the happiness of others. Beneficence marks the working of this disposition in dispensing good on a somewhat broad scale. Munificence shows the same disposition, but acting on a still broader scale, in conferring gifts and favors. These are not necessarily confined to objects of immediate utility. One may show his munificence in presents of pictures or jewelry, but this would not be beneficence. Benevolence of heart; beneficence of life; munificence in the encouragement of letters. BeÏnev¶oÏlent (?), a. [L. benevolens, Ïentis; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + volens, p. pr. of volo I will, I wish. See Bounty, and Voluntary.] Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable. Ð BeÏnev¶oÏlentÏly, adv. Syn. Ð Benevolent, Beneficent. Etymologically considered, benevolent implies wishing well to others, and beneficent, doing well. But by degrees the word benevolent has been widened to include not only feelings, but actions; thus, we speak of benevolent operations, benevolent labors for the public good, benevolent societies. In like manner, beneficent is now often applied to feelings; thus, we speak of the beneficent intentions of a donor. This extension of the terms enables us to mark nicer shades of meaning. Thus, the phrase ½benevolent labors¸ turns attention to the source of these labors, viz., benevolent feeling; while beneficent would simply mark them as productive of good. So, ½beneficent intentions¸ point to the feelings of the donor as bent upon some specific good act; while ½benevolent intentions¸ would only denote a general wish and design to do good. BeÏnev¶oÏlous (?), a. [L. benevolus.] Kind; benevolent. [Obs.] T. Puller. BenÏgal¶ (?), n. 1. A province in India, giving its name to various stuffs, animals, etc. 2. A thin stuff, made of silk and hair, originally brought from Bengal. 3. Striped gingham, originally brought from Bengal; Bengal stripes. Bengal light, a firework containing niter, sulphur, and antimony, and producing a sustained and vivid colored light, used in making signals and in pyrotechnics; Ð called also blue light. Ð Bengal stripes, a kind of cotton cloth woven with colored stripes. See Bengal, 3. Ð Bengal tiger. (Zo”l.). See Tiger. BenÏgal¶ee, BenÏgal¶i (?), n. The language spoken in Bengal. Ben·galÏese¶ (?), a. Of or pertaining to Bengal. Ð n. sing. & pl. A native or natives of Bengal. BenÏgo¶la (?), n. A Bengal light. BeÏnight¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Benighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Benighting.] 1. To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of night; to obscure. [Archaic] The clouds benight the sky. Garth. 2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the end of a day's journey or task. Some virgin, sure, ... benighted in these woods. Milton. 3. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from intellectual light. Shall we to men benighted The lamp of life deny ? Heber. BeÏnight¶ment (?), n. The condition of being benighted. BeÏnign¶ (?), a. [OE. benigne, bening, OF. benigne, F. b‚nin, fem. b‚nigne, fr. L. benignus, contr. from benigenus; bonus good + root of genus kind. See Bounty, and Genus.] 1. Of a kind or gentle disposition; gracious; generous; favorable; benignant. Creator bounteous and benign. Milton. 2. Exhibiting or manifesting kindness, gentleness, favor, etc.; mild; kindly; salutary; wholesome. Kind influences and benign aspects. South. 3. Of a mild type or character; as, a benign disease. Syn. Ð Kind; propitious; bland; genial; salubrious; favorable salutary; gracious; liberal. BeÏnig¶nanÏcy (?), n. Benignant quality; kindliness. BeÏnig¶nant (?), a. [LL. benignans, p. pr. of benignare, from L. benignus. See Benign.] Kind; gracious; favorable. Ð BeÏnig¶nantÏly, adv. BeÏnig¶niÏty (?), n. [OE. benignite, F. b‚nignit‚, OF. b‚nignet‚, fr. L. benignitas. See Benign.] 1. The quality of being benign; goodness; kindness; graciousness. ½Benignity of aspect.¸ Sir W. Scott. 2. Mildness; gentleness. The benignity or inclemency of the season. Spectator. 3. Salubrity; wholesome quality. Wiseman. BeÏnign¶ly (?), adv. In a benign manner. BeÏnim¶ (?), v. t. [AS. beniman. See Benumb, and cf. Nim.] To take away. [Obs.] Ire ... benimeth the man fro God. Chaucer. Ben¶iÏson (?), n. [OE. beneysun, benesoun, OF. bene‹?un, bene‹son, fr. L. benedictio, fr. benedicere to bless; bene (adv. of bonus good) + dicere to say. See Bounty, and Diction, and cf. Benediction.] Blessing; beatitude; benediction. Shak. More precious than the benison of friends. Talfourd. ØB‚Ïni¶tier· (?), n. [F., fr. b‚nir to bless.] (R. C. Ch.) A holyÐwater stoup. Shipley. Ben¶jaÏmin (?), n. [Corrupted from benzoin.] See Benzoin. Ben¶jaÏmin, n. A kind of upper coat for men. [Colloq. Eng.] Ben¶jaÏmite (?), n. A descendant of Benjamin; one of the tribe of Benjamin. Judg. iii. 15. Ben¶ne (?), n. [Malay bijen.] (Bot.) The name of two plants (Sesamum orientale and S. indicum), originally Asiatic; Ð also called oil plant. From their seeds an oil is expressed, called benne oil, used mostly for making soap. In the southern United States the seeds are used in candy. Ben¶net (?), n. [F. benoŒte, fr. L. benedicta, fem. of benedictus, p. p., blessed. See Benedict, a.] (Bot.) The common yellowÏflowered avens of Europe (Geum urbanum); herb bennet. The name is sometimes given to other plants, as the hemlock, valerian, etc. Ben¶shee (?), n. See Banshee. Bent (?), imp. & p. p. of Bend. Bent, a. & p. p. 1. Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever. 2. Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved, determined, set, etc.; Ð said of the mind, character, disposition, desires, etc., and used with on; as, to be bent on going to college; he is bent on mischief. Bent, n. [See Bend, n. & v.] 1. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow. [Obs.] Wilkins. 2. A declivity or slope, as of a hill. [R.] Dryden. 3. A leaning or bias; proclivity; tendency of mind; inclination; disposition; purpose; aim. Shak. With a native bent did good pursue. Dryden. 4. Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course. Bents and turns of the matter. Locke. 5. (Carp.) A transverse frame of a framed structure. 6. Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus. [Archaic] The full bent and stress of the soul. Norris. Syn. Ð Predilection; turn. Bent, Bias, Inclination, Prepossession. These words agree in describing a permanent influence upon the mind which tends to decide its actions. Bent denotes a fixed tendency of the mind in a given direction. It is the widest of these terms, and applies to the will, the intellect, and the affections, taken conjointly; as, the whole bent of his character was toward evil practices. Bias is literally a weight fixed on one side of a ball used in bowling, and causing it to swerve from a straight course. Used figuratively, bias applies particularly to the judgment, and denotes something which acts with a permanent force on the character through that faculty; as, the bias of early education, early habits, etc. Inclination is an excited state of desire or appetency; as, a strong inclination to the study of the law. Prepossession is a mingled state of feeling and opinion in respect to some person or subject, which has laid hold of and occupied the mind previous to inquiry. The word is commonly used in a good sense, an unfavorable impression of this kind being denominated a prejudice. ½Strong minds will be strongly bent, and usually labor under a strong bias; but there is no mind so weak and powerless as not to have its inclinations, and none so guarded as to be without its prepossessions.¸ Crabb. Bent (?), n. [AS. beonet; akin to OHG. pinuz, G. binse, rush, bent grass; of unknown origin.] 1. A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass. His spear a bent, both stiff and strong. Drayton. 2. (Bot.) A grass of the genus Agrostis, esp. Agrostis vulgaris, or redtop. The name is also used of many other grasses, esp. in America. 3. Any neglected field or broken ground; a common; a moor. [Obs.] Wright. Bowmen bickered upon the bent. Chevy Chase. Bent¶ grass· (?). (Bot.) Same as Bent, a kind of grass. Ben¶thal (?), a. [Gr. ? the depth of the sea.] Relating to the deepest zone or region of the ocean. BenÏtham¶ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to Bentham or Benthamism. Ben¶thamÏism (?), n. That phase of the doctrine of utilitarianism taught by Jeremy Bentham; the doctrine that the morality of actions is estimated and determined by their utility; also, the theory that the sensibility to pleasure and the recoil from pain are the only motives which influence human desires and actions, and that these are the sufficient explanation of ethical and jural conceptions. Ben¶thamÏite (?), n. One who believes in Benthamism. Bent¶ing time¶ (?). The season when pigeons are said to feed on bents, before peas are ripe. Bare benting times ... may come. Dryden. Bent¶y (?), a. 1. A bounding in bents, or the stalks of coarse, stiff, withered grass; as, benty fields. 2. Resembling bent. Holland. BeÏnumb¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Benumbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Benumbing.] [OE. binomen, p. p. of binimen to take away, AS. beniman; pref. be + niman to take. See Numb, a., and cf. Benim.] To make torpid; to deprive of sensation or sensibility; to stupefy; as, a hand or foot benumbed by cold. The creeping death benumbed her senses first. Dryden. BeÏnumbed¶ (?), a. Made torpid; numbed; stupefied; deadened; as, a benumbed body and mind. Ð BeÏnumbed¶ness, n. BeÏnumb¶ment (?), n. Act of benumbing, or state of being benumbed; torpor. Kirby. Ben¶zal (?), n. [Benzoic + aldehyde.] (Chem.) A transparent crystalline substance,? C6H5.CO. NH2, obtained by the action of ammonia upon chloride of benzoyl, as also by several other reactions with benzoyl compounds. BenÏzam¶ide (?), n. [Benzoin + amide.] (Chem.) A transparent crystalline substance, C6H5.CO.NH2, obtained by the action of ammonia upon chloride of benzoyl, as also by several other reactions with benzoyl compounds. Ben¶zene (?), n. [From Benzoin.] (Chem.) A volatile, very inflammable liquid, C6H6, contained in the naphtha produced by the destructive distillation of coal, from which it is separated by fractional distillation. The name is sometimes applied also to the impure commercial product or benzole, and also, but rarely, to a similar mixed product of petroleum. Benzene nucleus, Benzene ring (Chem.), a closed chain or ring, consisting of six carbon atoms, each with one hydrogen atom attached, regarded as the type from which the aromatic compounds are derived. This ring formula is provisionally accepted as representing the probable constitution of the benzene molecule, C6H6, and as the type on which its derivatives are formed. Ben¶zile (?), n. [From Benzoin.] (Chem.) A yellowish crystalline substance, C6H5.CO.CO.C6H5, formed from benzoin by the action of oxidizing agents, and consisting of a doubled benzoyl radical. Ben¶zine (?), n. [From Benzoin.] (Chem.) 1. A liquid consisting mainly of the lighter and more volatile hydrocarbons of petroleum or kerosene oil, used as a solvent and for cleansing soiled fabrics; Ð called also petroleum spirit, petroleum benzine. Varieties or similar products are gasoline, naphtha, rhigolene, ligroin, etc. 2. Same as Benzene. [R.] µ The hydrocarbons of benzine proper are essentially of the marsh gas series, while benzene proper is the typical hydrocarbon of the aromatic series. Ben¶zoÏate (?), n. [Cf. F. benzoate.] (Chem.) A salt formed by the union of benzoic acid with any salifiable base.

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