Ben
(Ben), adv. & prep. [AS. binnan; pref. be- by + innan within, in in.] Within; in; in or into the interior; toward
the inner apartment. [Scot.]
Ben
(Ben), n. [See Ben, adv.] The inner or principal room in a hut or house of two rooms; — opposed
to but, the outer apartment. [Scot.]
Ben
(Ben). An old form of the pl. indic. pr. of Be. [Obs.]
Bename
(Be*name") v. t. [p. p. Benamed, Benempt.] To promise; to name. [Obs.]
Bench
(Bench) n.; pl. Benches [OE. bench, benk, AS. benc; akin to Sw. bänk, Dan bænk, Icel. bekkr,
OS., D., & G. bank. Cf. Bank, Beach.]
1. A long seat, differing from a stool in its greater length.
Mossy benches supplied the place of chairs.
Sir W. Scott.
2. A long table at which mechanics and other work; as, a carpenter's bench.
3. The seat where judges sit in court.
To pluck down justice from your awful bench.
Shak.
4. The persons who sit as judges; the court; as, the opinion of the full bench. See King's Bench.
5. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public; — so named because the animals are usually
placed on benches or raised platforms.
6. A conformation like a bench; a long stretch of flat ground, or a kind of natural terrace, near a lake or
river.
Bench mark (Leveling),
one of a number of marks along a line of survey, affixed to permanent objects,
to show where leveling staffs were placed. — Bench of bishops, the whole body of English prelates
assembled in council. — Bench plane, any plane used by carpenters and joiners for working a flat
surface, as jack planes, long planes. — Bench show, an exhibition of dogs. — Bench table (Arch.),
a projecting course at the base of a building, or round a pillar, sufficient to form a seat.
Bench
(Bench) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benched ; p. pr. & vb. n. Benching.]
1. To furnish with benches.
'T was benched with turf.
Dryden.
Stately theaters benched crescentwise.
Tennyson.
2. To place on a bench or seat of honor.
Whom I . . . have benched and reared to worship.
Shak.
Bench
(Bench), v. i. To sit on a seat of justice. [R.] Shak.
Bencher
(Bench"er) n.
1. (Eng. Law) One of the senior and governing members of an Inn of Court.
2. An alderman of a corporation. [Eng.] Ashmole.