Where does “beneficence” come from?
Beneficence comes from Middle English beneficence, from Latin beneficentia, derived from Latin benefacio, combining Latin bene and Latin bonus, which traces to Latin duonus, Proto-Italic dwenos, and Proto-Indo-European dew-.
beneficence (English): An act of philanthropy, a kind deed; an act which...
Definitions
- An act of philanthropy, a kind deed; an act which...
Ancestry of “beneficence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beneficence | — |
| 2 | Latin | beneficentia | beneficence, kindness |
| 3 | Latin | benefaciō | to do good |
| 4 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 5 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |