Etymologically
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ben

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ben1 ben tree

Pronunciation

Forms

ben m[2][3]

Etymology

The tree name is borrowed from Arabic بان (bān, “ben tree, moringa”),[3][2][4][5] a word already found in Medieval Latin in the 13th century.[3] The Grand Robert glosses the Arabic tree name as “oriental willow with scented flowers”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The French translation of the falconry treatise of Moamin (14th century) has ben and been for the oil-bearing moringa: oile de been.[3]

Semantic evolution

Noix de ben, the seed of the moringa, is recorded in 1561, in Antoine du Pinet's translation of Matthioli's commentary on Dioscorides.[3] Its oil was used chiefly in perfumery.[3][4] The TLFi notes that some dictionaries give the pronunciation /bɛ̃/, others /bɛn/.[3]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Ben in Medieval Latin.[3]
  • 14th century – Ben, been in the French Moamin.[3]
  • 1561 – Noix de ben.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (botany) The ben tree, Moringa oleifera, whose seed (noix de ben) yields an oil used in perfumery.[3][4]

ben2 well

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɛ̃/[1]

Forms

ben (invariable)[6]

Etymology

The interjection and adverb is a spelling of bien that reflects a rural or familiar pronunciation;[2][6][1] the written form dates from the early 19th century, but the pronunciation is much older.[2][7] That word itself continues Latin bene (“well”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The spelling is attested from the early 19th century;[7][2] Balzac has eh ben in La Peau de chagrin (1831).[3]

Semantic evolution

Ben first marked rural or familiar speech (ben quoi ?), and it became general in the second half of the 20th century (bon, ben…).[7] The TLFi notes that it can stand for bien in all its uses, not only as an interjection, with examples such as p'tête ben (Pailleron, 1879), ben, mon vieux (Barbusse, 1916) and ah ben dis donc (Céline, 1936).[3] In Canadian French it is much less marked and takes most of the uses of bien.[7]

Timeline

  • Early 19th century – The spelling ben.[7]
  • 1831 – Eh ben, in Balzac.[3]
  • 1879 – P'tête ben, in Pailleron.[3]
  • 2nd half of the 20th century – General familiar use.[7]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. (familiar) Well, um: eh ben !, ben non, ben quoi ?[6][1]
  2. (familiar, ironic) Ben voyons !: of course!, obviously![6][3]

Adverb

  1. (rural) Well, bien: pt'êt' ben qu'oui, maybe so.[6][3]

Usage notes

A slang noun ben “trousers” (pronounced /bɛn/) is a clipping of bénard, from pantalon à la Bénard (1876), named after a tailor of the faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 19, 21b
  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 c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert