Beninese

• Beninoise

From Benin +‎ -ese.

• IPA^(key): /bɛnɪˈniːz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːz

Beninese (comparative more Beninese, superlative most Beninese)

1. Of, from, or pertaining to Benin, the Beninese people.

Beninese (plural Beninese)

1. (chiefly in the plural) A person from Benin or of Beninese descent.

   Hypernyms: African, sub-Saharan

   • 2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), pages 147–148:

     “They wanted to know what part of Africa my parents hailed from,” Caesar said. “How was I to know? He said I had the nose of a Beninese.”

• As with other terms for people formed with -ese, the countable singular noun in reference to a person (as in "I am a Beninese", "writing about Beninese cuisine as a Beninese") is uncommon and often taken as grammatically incorrect. In its place, the adjective is used, by itself (as in "I am Beninese") or before a noun like person, man, or woman ("writing about Beninese cuisine as a Beninese person"). See also -ish, which is similarly only primarily used as an adjective or as a plural noun.

Beninese

1. attributive form of Beninees

Beninese

1. plural of Beninees