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Glite Dictionary
Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

1 3.4
An American leader, inventor, and writer who helped start the United States and studied electricity
  • proper noun
  • /ˈbɛnʤəmin ˈfræŋklɪn/
translation icon : Benjamin Franklin
  • Benjamin Franklin (attributed) at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

Examples

  • Benjamin Franklin described this to the people of London in the 1760s.

    Blog text (2)

  • Benjamin Franklin thought the Iroquois Confederacy had good ideas that the European immigrants should copy.

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  • Benjamin Franklin (1753)

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  • In his youth, Benjamin Franklin experimented with various forms of electricity using simple equipment.

  • Benjamin Franklin is often remembered for his famous kite experiment during a lightning storm.

  • Many innovations in the field of electricity can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin's pioneering research.

Synonyms

Franklin
vsBenjamin Franklin
426 4.6

An American leader, writer, and scientist who helped write the Declaration of Independence

is the fuller description emphasizing roles and achievements

Surface Forms

Benjamin Franklin main

Morphology

Benjamin + Franklin

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; the semantic content of the individual name parts ('Benjamin', 'Franklin') does not compose to yield his biographical role. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not be able to derive that this refers to an American statesman, inventor and founding father, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Benjamin Franklin is the famous American who flew a kite with a key in a storm to study lightning, later made the lightning rod and special glasses, and wrote many clever sayings. That's why his name now stands for a smart, practical 'inventor', 'writer' and national 'leader'.