Benin
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Benin
- /bɪˈniːn/ UK
- /bɛˈniːn/ UK
- /bəˈnin/ US
- /bəˈnɪn/ US
Rhymes with -ɪn, -iːn
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French Bénin, from Portuguese Benim, from Itsekiri Ubinu. The term is first documented in the late 1490s upon Portuguese contact with the Itsekiri Kingdom. The etymology is unclear; it appears Benin was always used as an exonym (probably by the Itsekiri and Yoruba) for the Benin Kingdom, which was always referred to as Ẹ̀dó, and older Ìgòdòmigòdò. The leading hypothesis is that the term originally derived from Yoruba ilẹ̀ ìbínú (“land of anger”), which emerges from a folk myth regarding purported founder of the Benin empire, Oranmiyan, who was a Yoruba prince, who referred to the region by this phrase because of his frustration in ruling the land.
proper noun
- People's Republic of Benin, from 1975 to 1990
- Republic of Benin, since 1990
- A historical kingdom in West Africa, in present-day Nigeria.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: dahomey, beninese, sahel, togo, nigeria, bulgaria, andorra, uruguay, ecuador, bolivia, cotonou, brazil, country, pui, benign, mild
Translations
Talk about this word "Benin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/benin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Benin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/benin "Benin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/benin.Cite this
@misc{benin_2026,
title = {Benin},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/benin},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
