Etymograph

English

benevolent

Benevolent comes from Latin benevolēns, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-1‘to choose’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbenevolēns1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400benevolent1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1641benevolent1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English benevolent
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1641, or 1642, Richard Brome: “Benevolence? vvhich ſhall I be benevolent to; or vvhich…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-Wiktionary, English benevolent‘to choose’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbenevolēnsWiktionary, English benevolent
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400benevolentWiktionary, English benevolent
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1641benevolentWiktionary, English benevolent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1641, or 1642, Richard Brome: “Benevolence? vvhich ſhall I be benevolent to; or vvhich…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’

will, well, volunteer, volition, wale, voluptuous, malevolent, malevolence, 11 more

Today it means

adj Having a disposition to do good.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “benevolent”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- / benevolent

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