ben

¹

[ben]

noun

1. the inner or back room of a two-room cottage, especially when used as a combined parlor and bedroom.

adverb

1. within; inside.

adjective

1. inside; inner.

ben

²

[ben]

noun

1. the seed of a tropical tree, Moringa pterygosperma, that yields an oil ben oil used in manufacturing cosmetics and lubricating delicate machinery.

ben

³

[ben]

noun

Scot., Irish.

1. a mountain peak; high hill.

   Ben Nevis.

ben

⁴

Also Ben

[ben]

1. son of (used especially in Hebrew and Arabic names).

   Moses ben Maimon.

Ben

⁵

[ben]

noun

1. a first name, form of Benjamin.

ben

¹

/ bɛn /

noun

1. an inner room in a house or cottage

preposition

1. in; within; inside; into the inner part (of a house)

adjective

1. inner

ben

²

/ bɛn /

noun

1. any of several Asiatic trees of the genus Moringa , esp M. oleifera of Arabia and India, whose seeds yield oil of ben , used in manufacturing perfumes and cosmetics, lubricating delicate machinery, etc: family Moringaceae

2. the seed of such a tree

ben

³

/ bɛn /

noun

1. a mountain peak (esp in place names)

   Ben Lomond

Word History and Origins

Origin of ben¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (Scots); as adverb, an unexplained variant of late Middle English bin, Middle English binne, Old English binnan “within” (cognate with Old Frisian binna, Middle Dutch, German binnen ), equivalent to bi- “near, around” + innan “within”; be-, in

Origin of ben²

First recorded in 1550–60; from Arabic bān, the name of the tree

Origin of ben³

First recorded in 1780–90; from Scots Gaelic, Irish beann “peak”

Origin of ben⁴

From Hebrew bēn, Arabic bin “son”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ben¹

Old English binnan , from _be- + innan inside

Origin of ben²

C15: from Arabic bān

Origin of ben³

C18: from Gaelic beinn , from beann

Example Sentences

The women call each other ben or sister in Gujarati.

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Cyprus has hosted joint Israeli-Cypriot military exercises, but has not ben involved in any military operations.

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And, on Sunday, that became a reality as he completed his journey to Tunisia's northern point at Ras ben Sakka.

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Arkansas has ben plagued by penalties, committing 25 for 245 yards in three games - including 14 for 125 yards in the BYU loss.

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In the village of Tafeghaghte, Hamid ben Henna described how his eight-year-old son died under wreckage after he had gone to fetch a knife from the kitchen as the family were having their evening meal.

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