Benevolent means "kind and generous," or less commonly, "organized for the purpose of doing good." One who is benevolent genuinely wishes other people well, a meaning reflected clearly in the word's Latin roots: benevolent comes from bene, meaning "good," and velle, meaning "to wish." Other descendants of "velle" in English include "volition," which refers to the power to make one's own choices or decisions, and "voluntary," as well as the rare "velleity," meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency." A more familiar velle descendant stands directly opposed to benevolent: malevolent describes someone or something having or showing a desire to cause harm to another person.

Source: Merriam-Webster