cui bono
English
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.
Noun
cui bono (uncountable)
- The principle that the ultimate initiator of an action is likely the person who stands to gain from the action.
- 1900, Evelyn Shuckburgh, Letters to Atticus, translation of original by Marcus Tullius Cicero:
- If the principle of cui bono is applied, it is evident that the gainers were the party of the triumvirs, whose popularity would be increased by a belief being created that their opponents the Optimates were prepared to adopt extreme measures to get rid of them.
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Synonyms
- cui prodest
Further reading
- cui bono in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- cui bono at OneLook Dictionary Search
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cui bonō.
Phrase
cui bono?
- who benefits? who profits?