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What is the difference between boon and benefit?

boon | benefit |

Benefit is a synonym of boon.



In obsolete terms the difference between boon and benefit

is that boon is good; prosperous; as, "boon voyage while benefit is beneficence; liberality.

As an adjective boon

is good; prosperous; as, "boon voyage.

As a verb benefit is

to be or to provide a benefit to.

boon

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A prayer; petition.
  • * :
    • For which to God he made so many an idle boon
  • (archaic) That which is asked or granted as a benefit or favor; a gift; a favour; benefaction; a grant; a present.
  • * :
    • Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above
  • * 1872 , (James De Mille), The Cryptogram :
    • I gave you life. Can you not return the boon by giving me death, my lord?
  • A good; a blessing or benefit; a great privilege; a thing to be thankful for.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
    • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.
  • An unpaid service due by a tenant to his lord.
    • Synonyms
    * blessing * benefit
    Antonyms
    * bane

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) boon, bone, from .

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (obsolete) good; prosperous; as, "boon voyage"
  • kind; bountiful; benign
  • * Milton
    • Which Nature boon / Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain.
  • gay; merry; jovial; convivial
  • * Arbuthnot
    • a boon companion, loving his bottle
  • * Episode 16
    • --No, Mr Bloom repeated again, I wouldn't personally repose much trust in that boon companion of yours who contributes the humorous element, if I were in your shoes.
    Quotations
    * Which ... Nature boon Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain — * A boon companion, loving his bottle —

    Etymology 3

    From Gaelic and Irish via Scots.

    Noun

    (-)
  • The woody portion of flax, separated from the fiber as refuse matter by retting, braking, and scutching.
    • (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    benefit

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An advantage, help, sake or aid from something.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit , Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.}}
  • A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
  • A performance, etc, given to raise funds for some cause.
  • (obsolete) beneficence; liberality

    • Derived terms

    * beneficial * benefiter

    Synonyms

    * (advantage, help ): foredeal, advantage, aid, assistance, boon, help * (payment ): subsidy

    Antonyms

    * (advantage, help ): disadvantage, encumbrance, hindrance, nuisance, obstacle, detriment

    See also

    * lagniappe

    Verb

  • To be or to provide a benefit to.
  • * Bible, Jer. xviii. 10
    • I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
  • To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.

    • Usage notes

    * Benefiting and benefited are more common, with benefitting and benefitted being a minor variant especially in the US.

    Synonyms

    * help, batten

    Antonyms

    * malefic * detriment

    Derived terms

    (terms derived from "benefit") * benefit association * benefit dollar * benefit in kind * benefit of clergy * benefit principle * benefit society * benefit-cost analysis * benefit-cost ratio * benefits coordinator * bennies * cafeteria benefit * child tax benefit * core benefit * cost-benefit analysis * death benefit * elective benefit * employee benefit * equivalent annual benefit * family benefit * friend with benefits * fringe benefit * income-related benefit * injury benefit * maternity benefit * means-tested benefit * nonstatutory fringe benefit * nonwage benefit * private benefit * risk-benefit * sickness benefit * state benefit * stranded benefit * supplementary benefit * survivor benefit * unemployment benefit * variable death benefit *

    Related terms

    (terms related to "benefit") * benefactor * beneficence * beneficent * beneficiary