- benefit (n.)
- late 14c., "good or noble deed," from Anglo-Fr. benfet "well-done," from L. benefactum "good deed" (see benefactor). Meaning "advantage, profit" first attested 1390s. Meaning "performance or entertainment to raise money for some charitable cause" is from 1680s. The verb is attested from 1540s. Benefits "financial support (especially for medical expenses) to which one is entitled through employment or membership" is recorded from 1895.