1. 1仁慈;善心

    Benevolence is the noun for a kind and generous heart: you wish people well, and you are ready to give care, time, or money, not because you must, but because you want good for them. It is a rather careful, word. A speaker might praise someone’s benevolence; a newspaper might thank a donor’s benevolence. It is stronger than a quick “nice”: it names a lasting wish to do good. Though actually, people also stretch it a little — a small kindness can be called benevolence in formal thanks. And in much older English history, a “benevolence” was a payment a king asked for and named a gift, which was not always freely given; that use is finished now. In ordinary English today, keep the kind-and-generous sense. You show benevolence, act out of benevolence, or remember someone’s benevolence.

組成From about 1400, first as “good will, a wish to do good.” Old French benivolence, from Latin benevolentia, literally “good will”: bene (“well, good”) + volentia, from volēns / volō (“to wish”).

同家族的字

  • benefitshares Latin bene, “well, good”
  • voluntaryshares the Latin “wish / want” piece (vol-)
  • benevolentthe adjective of this noun
  • malevolencesame “wishing” piece, but mal- “bad” instead of bene- “good”

原始詞典資料4 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,摘錄並精簡格式,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

benevolencenoun/bəˈnɛvələns/

  • 1

    Disposition to do good.

    • gesture of benevolence
    • show benevolence
  • 2

    Charitable kindness.

    • His acts of benevolence earned him great respect.
  • 3

    An altruistic gift or act.

  • 4

    historicalA kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary,已精簡格式;依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用,改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。