Benin

IPA/bˈɛnɪn/
KK[bˈinɪn]IPA/bˈiːnɪn/

Benin — noun

1. a small republic on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Togo to the west, Nige

1.noun
Definition

a small republic on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south; its largest city is Cotonou and its official capital is Porto-Novo.

Example

Uri spent two months teaching English at a primary school in northern Benin.

preposition 'in' + country name (no article)

Benin lies between Togo and Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea.

Benin as subject of a geographical statement

Common collocations
  • in Benin
  • northern Benin
  • southern Benin
  • the people of Benin
  • from Benin
  • the coast of Benin
Synonyms
  • Republic of Benin

    the full official name, used in formal or political contexts

  • Dahomey

    the country's former name, used until 1975

Grammar Patterns

used without 'the' as a country name

Usage Note

Used without an article: say 'Benin', 'in Benin', 'from Benin' — never 'the Benin'. Distinguish from the historical 'Kingdom of Benin', which was located in present-day Nigeria, not in the modern country.

Common Mistakes

She works in the Benin.
She works in Benin.
country names like Benin take no article.
Benin is the capital of West Africa.
Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin.
Benin is a country, not a city; its own capital is Porto-Novo.

Word family

  • Beninese
    adjective
  • Beninese
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four names all touch the same region of West Africa, but they refer to different entities. 'Benin' is the everyday short name for the modern country and is what learners will see in news, travel writing, and conversation. 'Republic of Benin' is the full official title; you meet it in treaties, embassies, and government documents. 'Dahomey' was the country's name from independence in 1960 until a 1975 rename, so it appears in older books and historical writing. 'Kingdom of Benin', confusingly, refers to a powerful pre-colonial state located in what is now southern Nigeria — not in the modern country of Benin at all. So 'I visited Benin last summer' means the modern republic, while 'a bronze head from the Kingdom of Benin' refers to art from medieval Nigeria.

Benin ↗Republic of BeninDahomeyKingdom of Benin

Etymology

EdoPortugueseEnglish

The country took the name 'Benin' in 1975, replacing 'Dahomey'. The new name was chosen from the nearby Bight of Benin — the stretch of coast on the Gulf of Guinea that the country faces. The bay itself had been named after the historical Kingdom of Benin, a powerful state in what is now southern Nigeria, whose own name in the Edo language is recorded as 'Ubinu'. So although the modern country and the old kingdom share a name, they are different places linked only through the coastline between them.