benign

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The Word of the Day for September 5 is: 

benign   \bih-NYNE\   adjective
     *1 : of a gentle disposition : gracious
     2 a : showing kindness and gentleness  b : favorable, wholesome
     3 a : of a mild type or character that does not threaten health or life; 
especially : not becoming cancerous b : 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.





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