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ben·ja·min¹

(bĕnjə-mən)

See benzoin.

[Alteration (influenced by the name Benjamin) of benjoin, benzoin; see BENZOIN.]

ben·ja·min²

(bĕnjə-mən)

n.
Slang

1. A one-hundred dollar bill.

2. One hundred dollars.

[After Benjamin Franklin, whose portrait appears on the US $100 bill.]

Benjamin, Judah Philip 1811-1884.

British-born American politician who served as Confederate secretary of war (1861-1862) and secretary of state (1862-1865).

Benjamin, Asher 1773-1845.

American architect noted for his books, such as The American Builder's Companion (1806), which popularized Federal and Greek Revival designs throughout New England.

Ben·ja·min

(bĕnyə-mēn′), Walter 1892-1940.

German critic and philosopher whose works include “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (1936) and The Arcades Project, a posthumously published study of the origins of modernity.

Ben·ja·min

(bĕnjə-mən)

In the Bible, the younger son of Jacob and Rachel and the forebear of one of the tribes of Israel.

[Hebrew binyāmîn, son of the south : bēn, son; see bn in the Appendix of Semitic roots + yāmîn, south; see ymn in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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