Benin
Pronunciation: /bɛˈniːn/
- a country of West Africa, immediately west of Nigeria; population 8,791,800 (est. 2009); languages, French (official), West African languages; capital, Porto Novo. The country was conquered by the French in 1893 and became part of French West Africa. In 1960 it became fully independent. Former name (until 1975) Dahomey.
Origin:
name adopted in 1975, formerly used of an African kingdom powerful in the 14th–17th cents