*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bonus

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.? Proto-Italic *dwenos Archaic Latin duenos Old Latin duonus Latin bonusbor. English bonus Borrowed from Latin bonus (“good”). Doublet of bona.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To pay a bonus, premium

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.? Proto-Italic *dwenos Archaic Latin duenos Old Latin duonus Latin bonusbor. English bonus Borrowed from Latin bonus (“good”). Doublet of bona.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:bonus<t:good>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.?\nProto-Italic *dwenos\nArchaic Latin duenos\nOld Latin duonus\nLatin bonusbor.\nEnglish bonus\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"to fit\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dewh₂-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*dwenos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Archaic Latin\", \"term\" : \"duenos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ala\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old Latin\", \"term\" : \"duonus\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ola\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"bonus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bonus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bonus\">\nBorrowed from Latin bonus (“good”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bona"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of bona"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:bonus<t:good>",
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      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.?\nProto-Italic *dwenos\nArchaic Latin duenos\nOld Latin duonus\nLatin bonusbor.\nEnglish bonus\nBorrowed from Latin bonus (“good”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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    ],
    [
      "*dwenos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/dwenos#Proto-Italic:_good"
    ],
    [
      "duenos",
      "duenos#Latin:_good"
    ],
    [
      "duonus",
      "duonus#Latin:_good"
    ],
    [
      "bonus",
      "bonus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "bonus",
      "bonus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "bona",
      "bona#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To pay a bonus, premium"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
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Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

Something extra that is good; an added benefit. · An extra sum given as a premium, e.g. to an employee or to a shareholder. · An addition to the player's score based on performance, e.g. for time remaining. · One or more free throws awarded to a team when the opposing team has accumulated enough fouls.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.? Proto-Italic *dwenos Archaic Latin duenos Old Latin duonus Latin bonusbor. English bonus Borrowed from Latin bonus (“good”). Doublet of bona.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:bonus<t:good>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.?\nProto-Italic *dwenos\nArchaic Latin duenos\nOld Latin duonus\nLatin bonusbor.\nEnglish bonus\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"to fit\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dewh₂-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*dwenos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Archaic Latin\", \"term\" : \"duenos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ala\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old Latin\", \"term\" : \"duonus\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ola\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"bonus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bonus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bonus\">\nBorrowed from Latin bonus (“good”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bona"
      },
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    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:bonus<t:good>",
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        "text": "+"
      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dewh₂-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_fit"
    ],
    [
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/dwenos#Proto-Italic:_good"
    ],
    [
      "duenos",
      "duenos#Latin:_good"
    ],
    [
      "duonus",
      "duonus#Latin:_good"
    ],
    [
      "bonus",
      "bonus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "bonus",
      "bonus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "bona",
      "bona#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "word": "bonus",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "word": "bonus",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "word": "Bonus",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "bónus",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "bônus",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "ボーナス",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "bōnasu"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "lang_code": "tr",
      "word": "bonus",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Something extra that is good; an added benefit.",
        "An extra sum given as a premium, e.g. to an employee or to a shareholder.",
        "An addition to the player's score based on performance, e.g. for time remaining.",
        "One or more free throws awarded to a team when the opposing team has accumulated enough fouls."
      ],
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    }
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bonus →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Ym9udXM