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ben·to

(bĕntō)

A Japanese box lunch, traditionally packed in a partitioned lacquered box and sometimes artfully arranged to resemble familiar characters, animals, or objects.

[Japanese bentō, from late colloquial Middle Chinese pɦjian`taŋ, convenient (also the source of Mandarin biàndāng) : Middle Chinese pɦjian`, convenient (from Old Chinese *bens) + Middle Chinese taŋ, to match, correspond, be capable (from Old Chinese *tâŋ; perhaps akin to Tibetan taṅ, with, together with, and).]

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bento

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:

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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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