c. 1600, "one of the order known (from the color of its dress) as the Black Monks," founded c. 529 at Monte Cassino, in Italy, by St. Benedict (see benedict). With -ine (1).
Entries linking to benedictine
benedict n.
"newly married man" (especially one who had seemed a confirmed bachelor), 1821, from the character Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing" (1599). The name is from Late Latin Benedictus, literally "blessed," from Latin benedicte "bless (you)" (see benediction). This also produced the proper name and surname Bennet; hence also benet (late 14c.), the third of the four lesser orders of the Roman Catholic Church, one of whose functions was to exorcize spirits.
-ine 1
also -in, adjectival word-forming element, Middle English, from Old French -in/-ine, or directly from Latin suffix -inus/-ina/-inum "of, like," forming adjectives and derived nouns, as in divinus, feminus, caninus; from PIE adjectival suffix *-no- (see -en (2)).
The Latin suffix is cognate with Greek -inos/-ine/-inon, and in some modern scientific words the element is from Greek. Added to names, it meant "of or pertaining to, of the nature of" (Florentinus), and so it also was commonly used in forming Roman proper names, originally appellatives (Augustinus, Constantinus, Justinus, etc.) and its descendants in Romanic languages continued active in name-forming. The Latin fem. form, -ina, was used in forming abstracts (doctrina, medicina). Relics of the attempt to continue a distinction between Latin -ina and -inus account for the English hesitation in spelling between -in and -ine.
*deu- 2
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to do, perform; show favor, revere."
It forms all or part of: beatific; beatify; beatitude; Beatrice; beau; beauty; Bella; belle; beldam; belladonna; belvedere; bene-; benedict; Benedictine; benediction; benefactor; beneficiary; benefice; beneficence; benefit; benevolent; benign; bonanza; bonbon; bonhomie; bonito; bonjour; bonny; bonus; boon (adj.); bounty; debonair; embellish.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin bene (adv.) "well, in the right way, honorably, properly," bonus "good," bellus "handsome, fine, pretty," and possibly beatus "blessed," beare "to make blessed."