Etymology

benim

B3E1N1I1M3

Today it means: To take away; rob; deprive; ravish Full definition →

First used 10th–16th c.Middle English benimen ← Old English beniman ← Proto-West Germanic *bineman
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*binemaną“to take away”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bineman
  3. Old English · inherited frombeniman
  4. Middle English · inherited frombenimen
  5. English todaybenim

From Middle English benimen, from Old English beniman, from Proto-West Germanic *bineman, from Proto-Germanic *binemaną (“to take away”). Equivalent to be- (“off, away”) + nim. Compare German benehmen.

First known use, by meaning

  • 10th–16th c. To take away; rob; deprive; ravish

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.