cui bono

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English

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Etymology

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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

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cui bono (uncountable)

  1. 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.

Synonyms

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See also

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Further reading

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Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin cui bonō.

Phrase

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cui bono?

  1. who benefits? who profits?; cui bono