1. Home
  2. Scrabble Dictionary. Word Meaning and Points

Ben in Scrabble and Meaning

Lookup Word Points and Definitions

What does ben mean? Is ben a Scrabble word?

How many points in Scrabble is ben worth? ben how many points in Words With Friends? What does ben mean? Get all these answers on this page.

Scrabble® and Words with Friends® points for ben

See how to calculate how many points for ben.

Is ben a Scrabble word?

Yes. The word ben is a Scrabble US word. The word ben is worth 5 points in Scrabble:

B3E1N1

Is ben a Scrabble UK word?

Yes. The word ben is a Scrabble UK word and has 5 points:

B3E1N1

Is ben a Words With Friends word?

Yes. The word ben is a Words With Friends word. The word ben is worth 7 points in Words With Friends (WWF):

B4E1N2

Our tools

Valid words made from Ben

Jump to...

Results

3-letter words (2 found)

BEN,NEB,

2-letter words (3 found)

BE,EN,NE,

1-letter words (1 found)

E,

You can make 6 words from ben according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

All 3 letters words made out of ben

ben ebn bne nbe enb neb

Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word ben. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in ben.

Definitions and meaning of ben

ben

Translingual

Symbol

ben

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Bengali.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛn/
  • (pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /bɪn/
  • Homophones: Ben, been (some accents), bin (pin-pen merger)
  • Rhymes: -ɛn, -ɪn

Etymology 1

From Middle English ben, bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, favor, compulsory service”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say”). Related to ban. More at boon.

Alternative forms

  • bene

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. (obsolete) A prayer; a petition.

Etymology 2

From Middle English ben, bene, variation of bin, binne (“within”), from Old English binnan (“within, in, inside of, into”), equivalent to be- +‎ in.

Preposition

ben

  1. (Scotland, Northern England) In, into.

Adverb

ben (not comparable)

  1. (Scotland, Northern England) Inside.

Adjective

ben (comparative benner, superlative benmost)

  1. Inner, interior.
Derived terms
  • ben-end, ben-room

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. (Scotland, Northern England) Ben-room: The inner room of a two-room hut or shack (as opposed to the but).
Derived terms
  • but and ben
References
  • The Dictionary of the Scots Language

Etymology 3

From Middle English been, from Old French and Medieval Latin, probably from a North African pronunciation of Arabic بَان (bān, “ben tree”).

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.
  2. The winged seed of the ben tree.
  3. The oil of the ben seed.
Synonyms
  • (tree): drumstick tree, horseradish tree, moringa
Derived terms
  • ben-nut
  • ben oil
Translations

Etymology 4

From Arabic بِن (bin) and Hebrew בן (ben, “son”).

Alternative forms

  • Ben
  • bin (Arabic)

Noun

ben (uncountable)

  1. (usually capitalised) Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames).
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Scots ben, benn, from Scottish Gaelic beinn.

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.
Derived terms
  • Ben Lomond
  • Ben More
  • Ben Nevis
  • Ben Venue

Etymology 6

UK C16. Probably from Latin bene or Italian bene.

Adjective

ben (comparative benar, superlative benat)

  1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Alternative spelling of bene; good.
Derived terms

Etymology 7

Shortening.

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. (UK, theater, slang, obsolete) A benefit (performance to raise funds).
    • year?, The Catholic Literary Circular (page 75)
      In the Chronicles of the Stage, some curious particulars are given relating to Sir Henry Herbert and the well-known Sir William Davidson, by which we learn, amongst other things, that a “ben” or benefit at Drury Lane, two centuries ago, was worth a hundred pounds.
References
  • John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary

See also

  • ben-joltram
  • ben-shie

Anagrams

  • EbN, NEB, NbE, Neb., neb

Amele

Adjective

ben

  1. big

Noun

ben

  1. a big thing

References

  • Pavol Štekauer, Salvador Valera, Lívia Kőrtvélyessy, Word-Formation in the World's Languages: A Typological Survey (2012)

Berbice Creole Dutch

Noun

ben

  1. bean

References

  • Silvia Kouwenberg, Berbice Dutch Glossed Texts (2013)

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencian) [ˈben]
  • Rhymes: -en

Adverb

ben

  1. Alternative form of bé
    Porteu un vestit ben bonic. ― Wear a very pretty dress.
    Demà al matí ben d'hora m'aixeco i viatjo a Milan. ― Tomorrow morning quite early I'll get up and travel to Milan.

Usage notes

  • The form ben is used when it precedes the adjective, adverb or verb form that it modifies, and bé is used in all other cases.

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

  • bénne (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German wenne, wanne, from Old High German hwenne, hwanne, from Proto-West Germanic *hwannā, from *hwan, from Proto-Germanic *hwan (“when”). Cognate with German wenn, wann, English when. Doublet of benn (adverb), from the same Middle High German source.

Conjunction

ben

  1. (Luserna) when
    Khåntamar khön ben 'z tüata offe di pinakotèk? ― Can you tell me when the art gallery opens?

References

  • “ben” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Corsican

Etymology

From bè (“well”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛn/

Noun

ben m

  1. deceased

Adverb

ben

  1. Alternative form of bè

References

  • https://infcor.adecec.net/

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse bein (“bone, leg”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą, cognate with English bone, German Bein.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /beːˀn/, [ˈb̥eˀn]

Noun

ben n (singular definite benet, plural indefinite ben)

  1. leg (a limb of a human or an animal used for walking; also, by analogy, the legs of a desk or a chair)
    Synonym: pusselanke (childish; joking)
  2. bone (any part of the skeleton)
  3. sinecure (a position that requires little to no work but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.)

Declension

References

  • “ben” in Den Danske Ordbog

Domari

Etymology

From Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀩𑀳𑀺𑀡𑀻 (bahiṇī), from Sanskrit भगिनी (bhaginī). Cognate with Hindi बहन (bahan).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ben̪/, /bɛn̪/

Noun

ben f

  1. sister

References

  • Matras, Yaron (2012) A Grammar of Domari (Mouton Grammar Library)‎[3], Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 65

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch bim, from Proto-Germanic *beuną.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛn
  • IPA(key): /bɛn/

Verb

ben

  1. first-person singular present indicative of zijn
  2. (dialectal) imperative of zijn

Usage notes

Ben, as an imperative, is considered non-standard, the standard form being wees.

Synonyms

  • (imperative) wees

Descendants

  • Skepi Creole Dutch: ben

References

  • Taaladvies.net on ‘wees’ or ‘ben’

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse ben, from Proto-Germanic *banjō.

Noun

ben n (genitive singular bens, plural ben)

  1. wound

Declension

Noun

ben f (genitive singular benjar, plural benjar)

  1. wound

Declension


Derived terms

  • benjardøgg
  • benjarkolvur

French

Etymology 1

Alternative form of bien

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛ̃/
  • Rhymes: -ɛ̃

Interjection

ben

  1. (informal) Well; uh
Derived terms
  • ben voyons

Etymology 2

Clipping of bénard.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛn/

Noun

ben m (plural bens)

  1. (slang) pants, trousers

Further reading

  • “ben”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben

  1. well
  2. properly, nicely

Antonyms

  • mâl

Noun

ben

  1. good

Related terms

  • bon

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ben, from Latin bene.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛŋ/

Noun

ben m (plural bens)

  1. benefit; welfare
    Synonym: beneficio
  2. (in the plural) goods
  3. good (the forces that are the enemy of evil)
    Antonym: mal

Related terms

  • bo

Adverb

ben

  1. well
    Antonym: mal
    Ben feito! ― Well done!
  2. very; a lot; enough
    Eche un rapaz ben espilido! ― He's a very smart young man!
  3. (followed by de or a contraction of de) a lot (of)
    Bótalle ben de zucre, sen medo! ― Add a lot of sugar, don't be shy!
  4. plus, or more, upwards

Related terms

  • bo

References

  • “ben” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
  • “ben” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
  • “ben” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Interlingua

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bene, French bien, Spanish bien and Portuguese bem.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ben/

Adverb

ben (comparative melio, superlative le melio)

  1. well

Derived terms

  • ben que

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben

  1. well

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛn/
  • Hyphenation: bèn

Adverb

ben (apocopated)

  1. Apocopic form of bene
    ben fatto ― well done

Derived terms

  • ben altro

Japanese

Romanization

ben

  1. Rōmaji transcription of べん

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese vir and Spanish venir .

Verb

ben

  1. to come

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben (comparative miec)

  1. well
  2. properly

Noun

ben m (plural bens)

  1. (especially in the plural) goods, property

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian bene, from Latin.

Adverb

ben

  1. well

Mandarin

Romanization

ben

  1. Nonstandard spelling of bēn.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of běn.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of bèn.

Usage notes

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish ben, from Proto-Celtic *benā, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛᵈn/

Noun

ben f (genitive singular mreih, plural mraane)

  1. woman

Mutation

References

  • G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 ben”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Middle English

Verb

ben

  1. Alternative form of been

References

  • “bēn” listed in the Middle English Dictionary [2001]

Northern Kurdish

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

ben ?

  1. string, rope

Derived terms

  • benik
  • benk

Related terms

  • bend
  • benî

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Danish ben, from Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Noun

ben n (definite singular benet, indefinite plural ben, definite plural bena or benene)

  1. a leg
  2. a bone

Alternative forms

  • bein

Derived terms

  • haleben
  • menneskeben

References

  • “ben” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan ben, from Latin bene.

Pronunciation

Adverb

ben

  1. well

Derived terms

  • benlèu

Noun

ben m (plural bens)

  1. good, possession

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Noun

bēn n

  1. leg
  2. bone

Inflection

Descendants

  • Middle Dutch: bêen
    • Dutch: been
      • Afrikaans: been
      • Berbice Creole Dutch: been
      • Jersey Dutch: beîn
      • Negerhollands: been
      • → Lokono: bèna
    • Limburgish: bein

Further reading

  • “bēn”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *bōniz. Cognate with Old Norse bón.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /beːn/

Noun

bēn f (nominative plural bēne or bēna)

  1. prayer, praying
  2. request, entreaty
  3. boon
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Basilius, Bishop"
Declension
Descendants
  • Middle English: ben, bene
    • English: ben, bene
      • ⇒ English: bee
    • ⇒ Scots: been-hook, been-plough

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *banjō. Cognate with Old Norse ben.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ben/

Noun

ben f

  1. Alternative form of benn

Old French

Adverb

ben

  1. (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of bien

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *bain, from Proto-Germanic *bainą. Cognates include Old English bān, Old Saxon bēn and Old Dutch bēn.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbeːn/, [ˈbɛːn]

Noun

bēn n

  1. bone
  2. leg

Descendants

  • North Frisian:
    Föhr-Amrum: bian
    Goesharde: biin
    Halligen: bian
    Heligoland: Bean
    Mooring: biinj
    Sylt: Biin
    Wiedingharde: biin
  • Saterland Frisian: Been
  • West Frisian: bien

References

  • Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Old Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bʲen/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *benā, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn.

Noun

ben f (genitive mná, nominative plural mná)

  1. woman
    Synonyms: banscál, bé, frac
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 31c7
  2. wife
    Synonym: séitig
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 22c10
Inflection
Derived terms
  • ban-
Descendants
  • Middle Irish: ben
    • Irish: bean
    • Manx: ben
    • Scottish Gaelic: bean
  • ⇒ Middle Irish: benagán

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

·ben

  1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of benaid

Verb

ben

  1. second-person singular imperative of benaid

Mutation

Further reading

  • G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 ben”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
  • Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940, reprinted 2017) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 291, page 184

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *banjō.

Noun

ben f (genitive benjar, plural benjar)

  1. mortal wound
  2. small bleeding wound

ben n

  1. wound

Declension

Related terms

  • bani m (“bane”)
  • benja (“to wound mortally”)

References

  • “ben”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adjective

ben

  1. well

Descendants

  • Occitan: ben

References

  • Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “bene”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 1: A–B, page 322

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *bain.

Noun

bēn n

  1. bone

Descendants

  • Middle Low German: bên
    • Low German: Been, Bein
    • Plautdietsch: Been

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

  • ᛒᚽᚿ (Runic)

Etymology

From Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /beːn/

Noun

bēn n

  1. bone
  2. leg

Declension

Descendants

  • Swedish: ben

Scots

Etymology 1

From Old English binnan.

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. The inner room of a two-room hut or shack (as opposed to the but).

Adjective

ben (comparative benner, superlative benmaist)

  1. Inner, interior.

Preposition

ben

  1. Through, in, into, inside (a dwelling).
    A gaed ben the chaumer.
    Come awah ben, hen.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic beinn.

Noun

ben (plural bens)

  1. mountain, hill

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بك (beñ).

Noun

ben m (Cyrillic spelling бен)

  1. (regional) birthmark, mole, naevus
    Synonym: madež

Further reading

  • “ben” in Hrvatski jezični portal
  • “ben” in Hrvatski jezični portal
  • “ben” in Hrvatski jezični portal

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English been.

Particle

ben

  1. Verbal marker for the past tense.

Usage notes

This marker can be combined with the markers sa or o for the future tense and e for the progressive aspect, in which case the order, if all are used, is that of ben sa/o e. Some examples:

  • mi ben waka: “I had walked”.
  • mi ben e waka: “I was walking”.
  • mi ben sa waka: “I would walk”.
  • mi ben sa e waka: “I would have been walking”.

Derived terms

  • bo

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish bēn, from Old Norse bein, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbeːn/

Noun

ben n

  1. (anatomy) leg; a body part
  2. leg; part of trousers which covers the legs
  3. the part of a piece furniture on which it stands
  4. (anatomy) bone; any of the components of an endoskeleton
  5. (anatomy) bone; the material of the endoskeleton

Declension

Related terms

References

  • ben in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • ben in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
  • ben in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛn/, /bæn/
  • Hyphenation: ben

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish بن (ben, “I”), from Proto-Turkic *ben (“I”).

Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰢𐰤 (mn² /⁠men⁠/), 𐰋𐰤 (b²n² /⁠ben⁠/, “I”), Karakhanid مَنْ (men, “I”), Azerbaijani mən, Bashkir мин (min), Chuvash эпӗ (ep̬ĕ), Kazakh мен (men), Kyrgyz мен (men), Turkmen men.

Possibly related to Mongolian би (bi, “I”), Manchu ᠪᡳ (bi, “I”) (however, the Altaic family theory is now only supported by a minority of scholars).

Pronoun

ben

  1. I, me
Usage notes
  • It is one of the two words that has irregular dative case declension. (The other one is "sen").
  • It is one of the two words that has irregular genitive case declension. (The other one is "biz").
Declension
See also

Noun

ben (definite accusative beni, plural biz)

  1. (psychology) ego

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish بك (beñ, “mole”), from Proto-Turkic *beŋ (“mole on the face”).

Cognate with Bashkir миң (miñ), Kyrgyz мең (meŋ), Kazakh мең (meñ) Turkmen meň, Yakut мэҥ (meñ).

Also compare Mongolian мэнгэ (menge, “mole, birthmark”). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Noun

ben (definite accusative beni, plural benler)

  1. birthmark, mole
Declension
Derived terms
  • benli
  • bensiz
Related terms
  • benek
See also
  • leke
  • yama

References

Venetian

Etymology

From Latin bene.

Adverb

ben

  1. well

Derived terms

  • benon

Related terms

  • bon

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓɛn˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓɛŋ˧˧]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɓɛŋ˧˧]

Etymology 1

From French benne.

Noun

ben

  1. a cabin
See also

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

ben

  1. (Southern Vietnam) to be comparable
    Synonym: bì
    Ai thong thả, trâu nào ben được ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bene.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ben]

Noun

ben (nominative plural bens)

  1. (sense of) well-being, welfare, being well, wellness

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Welsh

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛn/

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛn/

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh benn, from Proto-Celtic *bend(n)ā (whence Latin benna), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind”).

Noun

ben f (plural benni)

  1. (transport, archaic) cart, wagon
Synonyms
  • men

Mutation

Etymology 2

Noun

ben

  1. Soft mutation of pen (“head”).

Mutation


Source: wiktionary.org