Plural of boon; benefits, blessings, or unexpected advantages; or close companions (in the phrase 'boon companions').
From Old Norse 'bón' (prayer, request) which evolved to mean 'something requested and granted' and eventually 'a benefit or blessing.' Used in English since medieval times.
A 'boon companion' meant someone so close to you that being together was a blessing—Shakespeare used this phrase to suggest deep friendship, but we've mostly lost this poetic usage of 'boon' in modern English.
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