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benjamin

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈbɛndʒəmən// UK //bˈɛndʒəmɪn// ben·jamin Archaic Slang

n. a slang word for a one-hundred-dollar bill. You use this because Benjamin Franklin's face is on the money.

n. a slang term for a United States one-hundred-dollar bill, referring to the portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the obverse. Informal in register and common in hip-hop culture and financial slang.


SIMPLE

He pulled a Benjamin out of his wallet to pay for dinner.

CONTEXTUAL

The jacket was expensive, costing several Benjamins even after the store applied a discount.

COMPLEX

In many urban lyrics, the pursuit of Benjamins serves as a central metaphor for social mobility and the harsh realities of economic survival in the modern city.

Synonyms
Origin

From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".

Usage

Usually used in the plural ('Benjamins') to refer to a large amount of money.

Idioms1 entry

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