benedict

benedict · noun¹

From Benedicke (normalized to the usual spelling, Benedict), a character in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1598).

benedict · adjective, verb²

1. Latin · derived frombenedictus
2. English todaybenedict

From Latin benedictus, past participle of benedicere (“to bless”). See benison. Doublet of bennet.

Benedict · proper noun³

1. Latin · derived frombenedīcō“to bless, to speak well of”
2. Late Latin · derived fromBenedictus
3. English todayBenedict

From Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order, from Late Latin Benedictus, from benedictus (“blessed, well spoken of”), from Latin benedīcō (“to bless, to speak well of”). Doublet of Bennett, Benoit, and Benito.

Words from the same roots