▪ I. † bene Obs.
Forms: 1 bén, 2–4 bene, (6 ? beane).
[OE. bœ́n, bén, cogn. with ON. bón, bœn (Sw., Da. bön):—OTeut. *bôni-z; perh. from root ba- ‘cry’: see ban.]
a. Prayer, petition, boon; esp. prayer to God.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke i. 13 Þin bén ys ᵹehyred. 1160 Hatton G. ibid., Þin bene is ȝe-herd. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 67 Hu maȝen heo bidden eni bene. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2511 Ðat mine bene ne be for-loren, wið ȝu ben mine bones boren. a 1300 K. Horn 508 Grante me a bene. 1340 Ayenb. 211 Mj bene bi ydiȝt beuore þe. [1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. 86 Then was the maid in my grandames beanes. 1807 Wordsw. Force of Prayer i, What is good for a bootless bene?] |
b. Comb. bene-day, ? rogation-day (cf. OE. bént{iacu}d); bene-tiðe, -tuðe n., success in prayer; adj. (OE. bént{iacu}ðe, -t{yacu}ðe) successful in prayer; bene-rip = bedrip.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 27 We muȝen mid one worde þese þrie þing bidden, and ben bene tiðe. Ibid. 201 To ure drihten . þat he..ȝife us bene tuðe. 1499 Promp. Parv. 30/2 Beneday, precare. |
▪ II. bene
obs. f. bean n., been, ben; obs. infin. and 3 pl. of be v., and variant of bein.