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Origin and history of benison

benison(n.)

c. 1300, "blessing, beatitude," from Old French beneison, beneiçon "blessing, benediction," from Late Latin benedictionem (see benediction).

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to benison

benediction(n.)

"act of speaking well of or blessing; invocation of divine blessing," c. 1400, benediccioun, from Late Latin benedictionem (nominative benedictio), "a blessing," noun of action from benedicere (in classical Latin two words, bene dicere) "to speak well of, bless," from bene "well" (from PIE root *deu- (2) "to do, perform; show favor, revere") + dicere "to say, speak" (from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly").

The oldest sense in English is of grace before meat. French re-Latinized its form of the word in 16c.; the older French form, beneiçon passed into Middle English as benison.

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    Trends of benison

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    doublet
    older and a later form, the older being generally descended and the later directly borrowed from the same original (as benison...
    blessing
    Middle English blessinge, from Old English bletsunga, bledsunge, "divine grace; protecting influence (of a deity, saint); state of spiritual well-being or joy;" also of a sanction or benediction of the Pope, a priest, etc.; verbal noun from bless. The meaning "a gift from God, th
    finicky
    1825, "dainty, mincing," from finical "too particular" (1590s), which perhaps is from fine (adj.) + -ical as in cynical, ironical (OED says "ultimate derivation" from the adjective "seems probable"). But finikin (1660s) "dainty, precise in trifles" has been proposed as a source,
    lot
    Old English hlot "object used to determine someone's share" (anything from dice to straw, but often a chip of wood with a name inscribed on it), also "what falls to a person by lot," from Proto-Germanic *khlutom (source also of Old Norse hlutr "lot, share," Old Frisian hlot "lot,
    ether
    late 14c., "upper regions of space," from Old French ether (12c.) and directly from Latin aether "the upper pure, bright air; sky, firmament," from Greek aithēr "upper air; bright, purer air; the sky" (opposed to aēr "the lower air"), from aithein "to burn, shine," from PIE *aidh
    contrast
    1690s, "to set in opposition with a view to show the differences; to stand in opposition or contrast; to set off (each other) by contrast," from French contraster (Old French contrester), modified by or from Italian contrastare "stand out against, strive, contend," from Vulgar La
    carcass
    "dead body of an animal," late 13c., from Anglo-French carcois, from or influenced by Old French charcois (Modern French carcasse) "trunk of a body, chest, carcass," and Anglo-Latin carcosium "dead body," all of unknown origin; original form uncertain. It may have been assimilate
    synagogue
    late 12c., sinagog, "the regular public worship and religious instruction of the Jews," also a place or building for Hebrew worship, from Old French sinagoge "synagogue, mosque, pagan temple" (11c., Modern French synagogue), from Late Latin synagoga "congregation of Jews," from G
    spell
    early 14c., spellen, "read letter by letter, write or say the letters of;" c. 1400, "form words by means of letters," said in most etymology sources to be from Anglo-French espeller, Old French espelir "to mean, signify; explain, interpret," also "spell out letters, pronounce, re
    intelligence
    late 14c., "the highest faculty of the mind, capacity for comprehending general truths;" c. 1400, "faculty of understanding, comprehension," from Old French intelligence (12c.) and directly from Latin intelligentia, intellegentia "understanding, knowledge, power of discerning; ar

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