Be-nēv'o-lent, a.

a. [Pr. bēnevolent, Lat. bēnevolens, from bene, well, and volens, p. pr. of volo, I will, I wish.] Having a disposition to do good; possessing love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; kind.

Synonyms—BENEVOLENT, BENEFICENT. Etymologically considered, benevolent implies merely wishing well to others, and beneficent doing well. But by degrees the word benevolent has been widened to include not only feelings, but actions. Thus we speak of benevolent operations, benevolent labors for the public good, benevolent societies. In like manner, beneficent is now often applied to feelings. Thus we speak of the beneficent intentions of a donor. This extension of the terms enables us to mark nicer shades of meaning. Thus, the phrase “benevolent labors” turns attention to the source of these labors, viz., benevolent feeling; while beneficent would simply mark them as productive of good. So “beneficent intentions” point to the feelings of the donor as bent upon some specific good act; while “benevolent intentions” would only denote a general wish and design to do good.