Benjamin
proper noun
- male given name
- family name
- place name
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈbɛnd͡ʒəmɪn/ / /ˈbɛnd͡ʒɚmɪn/ / /ˈbɪnd͡ʒəmɪn/
name
Etymology: From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".
- The youngest of the sons of Jacob and Rachel in the Bible.
“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”
“What about the youngest child - the Benjamin - the child of its parents' mature strength and charity, always better treated than the unfortunate eldest children of their youthful ignorance and wilfulness?”
- A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
“"Well, who the hell ever thinks some boy with a name like Benjamin is going to kill someone?" I said. "It's like someone named Winnie the Pooh taking hostages!"”
“For it would surely improve the domestic standing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an unbudgeable hawk, and thereby indefinitely delay peace on that Middle Eastern front.”
- A small city, the county seat of Knox County, Texas, United States.
- A patrilineal surname transferred from the given name.
noun
Etymology: From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".
- A $100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
“Fuck the past, let's dwell on the 500SL, the E&J and ginger ale / The way my pockets swell to the rims with Benjamins”
“Swimmin' in women wit they own condominiums / Five plus fives, who drive millenniums / It's all about the Benjamins, what?”