Meanings
- A country in West Africa, formerly Dahomey.
- People's Republic of Benin, from 1975 to 1990
- Republic of Benin, since 1990
- A historical kingdom in West Africa, in present-day Nigeria.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Yorubaile
- Yorubaì-
- Yorubabí
- Yorubainú
- Yorubaibinu
- Yorubaile ibin
- ItsekiriUbin
- PortugueseBenim
- FrenchBénin
- EnglishBenin
Borrowed from French Bénin, from Portuguese Benim, from Itsekiri Ubinu. The term is first documented in the late 1490s upon Portuguese contact with the Itsekiri Kingdom. The etymology is unclear; it appears Benin was always used as an exonym (probably by the Itsekiri and Yoruba) for the Benin Kingdom, which was always referred to as Ẹ̀dó, and older Ìgòdòmigòdò. The leading hypothesis is that the term originally derived from Yoruba ilẹ̀ ìbínú (“land of anger”), which emerges from a folk myth regarding purported founder of the Benin empire, Oranmiyan, who was a Yoruba prince, who referred to the region by this phrase because of his frustration in ruling the land.
More words from French, Portuguese, Itsekiri
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Benin
- Benincountry
Arabic بَنِين
- بَنِين (banīn)country
Bengali বেনিন
- বেনিন (benin)country
Bulgarian Бени́н
- Бени́н (Benín)country
Catalan Benín
- Beníncountry
Chinese Mandarin 貝寧 /贝宁
- 貝寧 /贝宁 (Bèiníng)country
Czech Benin
- Benincountry
Danish Benin
- Benincountry
Dutch Benin
- Benincountry
Esperanto Benino
- Beninocountry
Estonian Benin
- Benincountry
Finnish Benin
- Benincountry
French Bénin
- Bénincountry
German Benin
- Benincountry
Greek Μπενίν
- Μπενίν (Benín)country
Hebrew בנין
- בנין (benin)country
Hindi बेनिन
- बेनिन (benin)country
Hungarian Benin
- Benincountry
Icelandic Benín
- Beníncountry
Indonesian Benin
- Benincountry
Irish Beinin
- Beinincountry
Italian Benin
- Benincountry
Japanese ベナン
- ベナン (Benan)country
Korean 베냉, 베닌
- 베냉 (Benaeng)country
- 베닌 (Benin)country
Latin Beninum
- Beninumcountry
Latvian Benina
- Beninacountry
Lithuanian Beninas
- Beninascountry
Malay Benin
- Benincountry
Māori Pēnina
- Pēninacountry
Norwegian Benin
- Benincountry
Persian بنین
- بنین (benin)country
Polish Benin
- Benincountry
Portuguese Benim
- Benimcountry
Romanian Benin
- Benincountry
Russian Бени́н
- Бени́н (Benín)country
Slovak Benin
- Benincountry
Spanish Benín
- Beníncountry
Swahili Benin
- Benincountry
Swedish Benin
- Benincountry
Tagalog Benin
- Benincountry
Tamil பெனின்
- பெனின் (peṉiṉ)country
Thai เบนิน
- เบนิน (bee-nin)country
Turkish Benin
- Benincountry
Ukrainian Бені́н
- Бені́н (Benín)country
Urdu بینن
- بینن (benin)country
Vietnamese Bê-nanh
- Bê-nanhcountry
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Benin
Cite this entry
Benin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Benin
“Benin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Benin. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Benin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Benin.
Source: Benin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.