Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Appropriate even if untrue; happily invented.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Well feigned; well invented: a part of a familiar Italian saying, Se non è vero, è ben trovato (If it is not true, it is well imagined), sometimes introduced, in various relations, in English.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Italian, from the saying Se non è vero, è molto ben trovato, (even) if it is not true, it is very well invented : ben, well, variant of bene (from Old Italian, from Latin bene; see deu- in Indo-European roots) + trovato, past participle of trovare, to find, invent (from Old Italian, probably from Vulgar Latin *tropāre, to compose (songs, verses), invent, from Late Latin tropus, trope, song, from Latin, trope); see trope.]
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Examples
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jmjarmstrong commented on the word ben trovato
JM reckons a suitable alias would be Ben Trovato
March 8, 2009