Obs. except dial. Forms: 2–7 bene, 5–6 beene, (Sc.) beyne, beine, 8–9 bien, bein, 9 been. [Of unknown derivation: the spellings bein, bien, are merely modern Sc. ways of writing been, the regular repr. of ME. bene; the latter rhymed with words in ē, from OE. é or eo, but no OE. *bén, *béne, *beon is found or etymologically accounted for.
The phonetic history shows that the word cannot be connected with ON. beinn, to which, in its fig. sense of ‘hospitable,’ some have plausibly referred it; that word duly survives in north. Eng. as BAIN. Others have turned to the L. bene or Fr. bien well; but it is not intelligible how either of these could have been adopted in Eng. as an adjective, which appears to have been the earlier use of bene.]
A. adj.
† 1. Pleasant, genial, kindly; ‘nice.’ (L. amœnus, almus, benignus.) Obs.
a. 1200. Moral Ode, 170, in E. E. P. (1862), 32. Læte we þe brode stret, & þe wei bene.
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. P., A. 110. Bonkez bene of beryl bryȝt. Ibid., C. 418. Þy bounte of debonerte & þy bene grace.
c. 1340. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 2475. Gaweyn on blonk ful bene To the kynges busȝ buskez bolde.
c. 1450. Henryson, Mor. Fab., 45. On sleepe I fell among the Bewes beene.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VI. x. 108. In soft bene medois by clere strandis … Our habitatioun is. Ibid., VI. v. 36. Into sum benar realm and warm countre. Ibid., IX. xi. 41. Besyde the bene river Athesys.
2. Comfortable, comfortably furnished.
1533. Bellenden, Livy (1822), 401. Somer fowlis, quhilkis flies, als sone as hervist cummis, to sum bene hous or secrete hollis.
a. 1560. Rolland, Crt. Venus, II. 130. Thair riche array, and thair habillement … So bene, so big, and so Auripotent.
1725. A. Ramsay, Gentle Sheph., I. i. Were your bien rooms as thinly stock’d as mine.
a. 1805. Macneill, Poems (1844), 110. A bein house to bide in, a chaise for to ride in.
1816. Scott, Antiq., xlv. ‘This is a gey bein place, and it’s a comfort to hae sic a corner to sit in.’
1837. Nicoll, Poems (1843), 141. To make our bien but-house his chaumer.
3. Of persons: Comfortable, well-to-do, well off.
a. 1548. Thrie Priests Peblis (1603), 78. Syne in ane Hal … He harbourit al his Burgessis rich and bene.
1603. Philotus. He wantis na jewels, claith, nor waith, Bot is baith big & beine.
1784. Burns, Wks., III. 155. The great folk … that live sae bien an’ snug.
1816. Scott, Old Mort., 58. ‘If we’re no sae bein and comfortable as we were up yonder, yet life’s life ony gate.’
1830. Galt, Lawrie T., IV. i. (1849), 14. A mother-looking personage, not unlike a bein Scotch wife.
b. Of a horse: Well fed, lazy.
1859. Parish Mag., Oct., 149. The old mare … was a deal beener than she was in the morning.
¶ 4. In thieves’ cant [perh. distinct from the prec., and immediately from L. bene or F. bien]: Good. Bene bowse: good drink; hence bene-bowsie a.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1869), 59. Sell it out right, for bene bowse at their bowsing ken.
1609. Dekker, Lanth. & Candle-Lt., Wks. 1885, III. 198. Cut benar whiddes [= speake better words].
1621. B. Jonson, Gipsies Metam. You must be ben-bowsy, And sleepy and drowsy.
1622. Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, III. iii. I crown thy nab with a gage of bene-bowse.
1652. Brome, Jov. Crew, II. Wks. 1873, III. 388. For all this bene Cribbing and Peck let us then Bowse a health to the Gentry Cofe of the Ken. Ibid., 391. This is Bien Bowse, this is Bien Bowse, Too little is my Skew.
1834. New Dict. Canting Crew, Bene cove, a good fellow.
B. adv. Pleasantly, genially, kindly.
c. 1400. Anturs Arth., vi. A lefe sale, Of box and of barbere byggyt ful bene. Ibid., xxix. Beten with besandus, and bocult ful bene.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, XIII. ix. 76. And full beyne [ed. 1553 bene] Tawcht thame to grub the wynis.
