Words

The English language is a funny thing.  I’ve often wondered why the word “malign” is a verb, and “malignant” is an adjective, but “benign” is an adjective.  And, until recently, I had never come across the word “benignant”.  In the course of a week, though, I have read “benignant” (an adjective) in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Children by Edith Wharton.  Curious.