'beneficent' originates from Latin, specifically the participial stem 'beneficent-' (from 'beneficēre'), where 'bene-' meant 'well' and 'facere' (as in 'ficere' variant) meant 'to do' or 'to make'.

'beneficent' came into English via Late Latin/Medieval Latin forms such as 'beneficent-' (present-participle formation from 'benefacere'/'beneficere') and was adapted into modern English with the spelling and adjectival use preserved.

Initially, the Latin formation meant 'doing well' or 'doing good', and over time it has kept that core sense in English of 'performing acts of kindness' or 'producing good results'.