ben

¹

[ ben ]

noun

1. the inner or back room of a two-room cottage, especially when used as a combined parlor and bedroom.

adverb

1. within; inside.

adjective

1. inside; inner.

ben

²

[ ben ]

noun

1. the seed of a tropical tree, Moringa pterygosperma, that yields an oil ben oil used in manufacturing cosmetics and lubricating delicate machinery.

ben

³

[ ben ]

noun

, Scot., Irish.

1. a mountain peak; high hill:

   Ben Nevis.

ben

⁴

[ ben ]

1. son of (used especially in Hebrew and Arabic names):

   Moses ben Maimon.

Ben

⁵

[ ben ]

noun

1. a first name, form of Benjamin.

ben

¹

/ bɛn /

noun

1. a mountain peak (esp in place names)

   Ben Lomond

ben

²

/ bɛn /

noun

1. any of several Asiatic trees of the genus Moringa , esp M. oleifera of Arabia and India, whose seeds yield oil of ben , used in manufacturing perfumes and cosmetics, lubricating delicate machinery, etc: family Moringaceae
2. the seed of such a tree

ben

³

/ bɛn /

noun

1. an inner room in a house or cottage

preposition

1. in; within; inside; into the inner part (of a house)

adjective

1. inner

Word History and Origins

Origin of ben¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (Scots); as adverb, an unexplained variant of late Middle English bin, Middle English binne, Old English binnan “within” (cognate with Old Frisian binna, Middle Dutch, German binnen ), equivalent to bi- “near, around” + innan “within”; be-, in

Origin of ben²

First recorded in 1550–60; from Arabic bān, the name of the tree

Origin of ben³

First recorded in 1780–90; from Scots Gaelic, Irish beann “peak”

Origin of ben⁴

From Hebrew bēn, Arabic bin “son”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ben¹

C18: from Gaelic beinn , from beann

Origin of ben²

C15: from Arabic bān

Origin of ben³

Old English binnan , from be- + innan inside

Example Sentences

Cyprus has hosted joint Israeli-Cypriot military exercises, but has not ben involved in any military operations.

From Seattle Times

And, on Sunday, that became a reality as he completed his journey to Tunisia's northern point at Ras ben Sakka.

From BBC

Arkansas has ben plagued by penalties, committing 25 for 245 yards in three games - including 14 for 125 yards in the BYU loss.

From Washington Times

In the village of Tafeghaghte, Hamid ben Henna described how his eight-year-old son died under wreckage after he had gone to fetch a knife from the kitchen as the family were having their evening meal.

From Reuters

Woakes, playing his first Test under captain ben Stokes, was accurate and found movement but it was Wood who will rightly steal the headlines.

From BBC