Boon

Word of the Day for Saturday, March 31, 2012

boon \boon\, noun:

1. Something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit.
2. Something that is asked; a favour sought.

China has simultaneously become the greatest boon and the biggest disappointment.
-- Adam Davidson, "Come On, China, Buy Our Stuff!," The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2012

A boon to scholars and to those surreptitiously in search of esoteric knowledge. The reader in the shadowy, out-of-the-way carrel stifled a whoop of delight.
-- Carolyn G. Hart, A Little Class on Murder

Boon comes from the Old Norse word bōn meaning "a prayer."

Thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/