English
benefit
Benefit comes from Middle English benfet ‘good deed’, from Anglo-Norman benfet ‘well-done’, ultimately from Old French bienfaire ‘to do good’.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bienfaire1‘to do good, do well’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bienfet1‘favour’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400benfet1‘well-done’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benfet1‘good or noble deed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benefytt1
- Englishearliest quotation 1611benefit1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English benefit
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “[…] I will repent of the good; wherewith I…”.
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bienfaireWiktionary, English benefit‘to do good, do well’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bienfetWiktionary, English benefit‘favour’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400benfetWiktionary, English benefit‘well-done’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benfetWiktionary, English benefit‘good or noble deed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500benefyttWiktionary, English benefit
- Englishearliest quotation 1611benefitWiktionary, English benefit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “[…] I will repent of the good; wherewith I…”
The story
From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of benfet, bienfet, bienfait (‘good or noble deed’), from Anglo-Norman benfet (‘well-done’), Middle French bienfait, from Old French bienfet, bienfait (‘foredeal, favour’), from past participle of bienfaire (‘to do good, do well’), from bien (‘well’) + faire (‘to do’), modelled after Latin benefactum (‘good deed’).
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with benefit, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
- do ← don ← dōn ← *dōn ← *dōną
- fact ← factum ← factus ← faciō
- deal ← delen ← dǣlan ← *dailijan ← *dailijaną
- hot ← hāt ← *hait ← *haitaz ← *kéHidos
- fair ← feyre ← foire ← fēriae ← *fēziās
- fan ← fanatic ← fānāticu
- fashion ← facioun ← fechoun
- feature ← feture ← feture ← faiture ← factūra
- mid ← midd ← *midi ← *midjaz ← *médʰyos
- theme ← teme ← teme
- defense ← defens ← defens ← dēfēnsa ← dēfendō
- custom ← custume ← custume ← consuētūdinem ← cōnsuēscō
156 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun An advantage; help or aid from something.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “benefit”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Old French bienfaire / benefit