[FONT=arial, helvetica]Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 05, 2007 is:
benign • \bih-NYNE\ • adjective
*1 : of a gentle disposition : gracious 2 a : showing kindness and gentlenessb : favorable, wholesome 3 a : of a mild type or character that does not threaten health or life; especially : not becoming cancerousb : having no significant effect : harmless

Example sentence:
Mr. Richardson was a benign man and an excellent teacher, and the children loved and trusted him instinctively.

Did you know?
"Benediction," "benefactor," "benefit," "benevolent," and "benign" are just some of the English words that derive from the well-tempered Latin root "bene," which means "well." "Benign" came to English via Anglo-French from the Latin "benignus," which in turn paired "bene" with "gignere," meaning "to beget." "Gignere" has produced a few offspring of its own in English. Its descendants include "congenital," "genius," "germ," "indigenous," and "progenitor," among others.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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