bénéficiaire

Forms

bénéficiaire (plural bénéficiaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin beneficiārius, a term of feudal and church law formed on beneficium (“benefit, favour”) after its legal senses in the Middle Ages.^[2][3][4][1] Classical Latin used the word only in other senses.^[2][3] Wiktionary notes that the word can also be read as bénéfice with the suffix -aire.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1609, in law, in the phrase émancipation bénéficiaire.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

From 1690 it was said of an heir who accepts an inheritance sous bénéfice d'inventaire, that is, without being liable for debts beyond its value.^[2] Historians used it of land held as a feudal bénéfice (before 1714) and, as a noun, of the holder of such a grant (1748).^[2]

In ordinary use, after the senses of bénéfice, the noun came to mean a person who enjoys an advantage (19th century), and in the theatre the actor for whom the takings of a performance were set aside (1835).^[2][3] In money matters it named, from 1823, the person to whom a sum is to be paid, as the payee of a cheque, and as an adjective it now describes what yields a profit: marge bénéficiaire, entreprise bénéficiaire.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1609 – First recorded, in the legal phrase émancipation bénéficiaire.^[2][5]
• 1690 – Used of an heir accepting an inheritance under benefit of inventory.^[2]
• 1748 – Used as a noun for the holder of a feudal benefice.^[2]
• 1823 – Used for the person to whom a sum of money is to be paid.^[2]
• 1835 – Used in the theatre for the person who receives the takings of a performance.^[2]
• 1875 – The adverb bénéficiairement is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A beneficiary: a person who benefits from an advantage, a right or a privilege: Les familles nombreuses sont les premières bénéficiaires de la mesure.^[6][8][1]
2. (law, finance) The person to whom a sum, a claim or a cheque is to be paid, a payee.^[6][5]
3. (administration) A person entitled to a benefit or allowance.^[5][8]
4. (history) The holder of a feudal bénéfice.^[5][9]

Adjective

1. Relating to a commercial profit; making a profit: marge bénéficiaire.^[6][8]
2. (law) Héritier bénéficiaire: an heir who accepts an inheritance under benefit of inventory.^[7][5][9]

Word family

• bénéficiairement

Related words

• bénéfice
• bénéficier
• bienfait
• Latin beneficium

Usage notes

Its opposite in the commercial sense is déficitaire.^[6][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
8. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette