bene
ˈbenɪ
The benefits on your payslip and a kind boss share a root
The picture A hand reaching across and setting something good down on another person's side. Only the thing being set down changes. bene is something good being laid on you; mal is the same spot gone wrong.
Where the picture shows up in bene
-
The good part added on
The job comes with good benefits.
ðə dʒɑːb kʌmz wɪð ɡʊd ˈbenɪfɪts
The job comes with good benefits.
Insurance and holiday slips being stacked onto the pay envelope, one on top of another.
bene(good) + fit(done) = a good thing done for you.
-
Good for the body
Walking is beneficial for your back.
ˈwɔːkɪŋ ɪz ˌbenɪˈfɪʃəl fɔːr jʊr bæk
Walking is beneficial for your back.
Every step laying one more good layer onto a stiff back.
-
The one who gives the good
The school has an anonymous benefactor.
ðə skuːl hæz ən əˈnɑːnɪməs ˈbenɪfæktər
The school has an anonymous benefactor.
An unnamed hand leaving an envelope at the school gate and walking away.
-factor is the one who does it.
-
A heart tilted toward good
She is a benevolent boss.
ʃiː ɪz ə bəˈnevələnt bɑːs
She is a benevolent boss.
A manager leaning toward her staff and holding out the good thing first.
-vol means to wish: she wishes you the good side.
-
The one the good lands on
Please write the beneficiary's name on the form.
pliːz raɪt ðə ˌbenɪˈfɪʃieriz neɪm ɑːn ðə fɔːrm
Please write the beneficiary's name on the form.
The open palm where the good thing finally comes to rest, with a name written across it.
All of it in one picture
bene is one hand putting something good on somebody's side. Land it on the pay and you get benefits; land it on a sore body and it is beneficial. The one doing the putting is a benefactor, the one it lands on is the beneficiary, and the willingness behind the hand is benevolence. So when a bene word shows up, don't hunt for a meaning — ask who is handing what good thing to whom.