cui bono

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The principle that the ultimate initiator of an action is likely the person who stands to gain from the action.

Word forms

cui bono

Etymology

From Cicero’s Pro Sexto Roscio Amerino, 84 & 86: Latin cui bonō fuisset (“to whom it would have benefited”), a so-called double dative construction.

Synonyms

Related words

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