Meanings
- uncountableThe principle that the ultimate initiator of an action is likely the person who stands to gain from the action.
If the principle of cui bono is applied, it is evident that the gainers were the party of the triumvirs, whose popularity would be increased by a belief being created that their opponents the Optimates were prepared to adopt extreme measures to get rid of them.
1900, Evelyn Shuckburgh, Letters to Atticus, translation of original by Marcus Tullius CiceroSynonyms: cui prodest
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe principle that the ultimate initiator of an action is likely the person who stands to gain from the action.
Origin
- Latincui bonō fuisset“to whom it would have benefited”
- Englishcui bono
From Cicero’s Pro Sexto Roscio Amerino, 84 & 86: Latin cui bonō fuisset (“to whom it would have benefited”), a so-called double dative construction.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cui bono. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cui%20bono
“cui bono.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cui%20bono. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cui bono,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cui%20bono.
Source: cui bono on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.