boon

boon¹ (buːn)

—n
1.	something extremely useful, helpful, or beneficial; a blessing or benefit: the car was a boon to him
2.	archaic a favour; request: he asked a boon of the king

[C12: from Old Norse bōn request; related to Old English bēn prayer]

boon² (buːn)

—*adj*
1.	close, special, or intimate (in the phrase boon companion)
2.	archaic jolly or convivial

[C14: from Old French bon from Latin bonus good]

booner or boon (ˈbuːnə)

—n
	derogatory (Austral) a young working-class person from Canberra

[C20: of unknown origin]

boon or boon

—n

[C20: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

boon

late 12c., bone "petition," from O.N. bon "a petition, prayer," from P.Gmc. *boniz (cf. O.E. ben "prayer, petition," bannan "to summon;" see ban).

boon

in boon companion (1560s), only real survival of M.E. boon "good" (early 14c.), from O.Fr. bon (see bon).

Slang Dictionary

boon definition

in.
to leave the road in a car for the boondocks. : Tom has a four-wheel-drive so we can really boon!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Example sentences

Horrible weather is usually a boon to hotels, and many in Manhattan reported

that they were sold out by early afternoon.

It had built a bridge that was considered a boon to the village.

At a time of painfully surging food prices, that would be a hefty boon for the

needy.

And depending on their comments and activity, this can be a boon for your brand.

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bonhomie boondocker boondocks boondoggle Boone bosom

Slang

ace boon-coon

Matching Quote

"I have always suspected that too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. It is a boon to people who don't have deep feelings; their pleasure comes from what they know about things, and their pride from showing off what they know. But this only emphasizes the difference between the artist and the scholar."

-Margaret Anderson