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Bequeath

 - 4 dictionary results

be⋅queath

  [bi-kweeth, -kweeth]
Use Bequeath in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to dispose of (personal property, esp. money) by last will: She bequeathed her half of the company to her niece.
2. to hand down; pass on.
3. Obsolete. to commit; entrust.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME bequethen, OE becwethan (be- be- + cwethan to say (see quoth ), c. OHG quedan, Goth qithan)

Related forms:
be⋅queath⋅a⋅ble, adjective
be⋅queath⋅al, be⋅queath⋅ment, noun
be⋅queath⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. will, impart, leave, bestow, grant, consign.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Bequeath
be·queath   (bĭ-kwēth', -kwēth')   
tr.v.   be·queathed, be·queath·ing, be·queaths

  1. Law To leave or give (personal property) by will.

  2. To pass (something) on to another; hand down: bequeathed to their children a respect for hard work.


[Middle English biquethen, from Old English becwethan : be-, be- + cwethan, to say; see gwet- in Indo-European roots.]
be·queath'al, be·queath'ment n., be·queath'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

bequeath 
O.E. becweðan, from cweðan "to say," from P.Gmc. *kwethanan. Original sense of "say, utter" died out 13c., leaving legal sense of "transfer by will." Closely related to noun bequest (c.1300), from be- + O.E. *cwis, *cwiss "saying," with excrescent -t. "An old word kept alive in wills" [OED 1st ed.].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: be·queath
Pronunciation: bi-'kwEth, -'kwEth
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Old English becwethan to speak to, address, leave by will, from be- to, about + cwethan to say
: to give by will —used esp. of personal property but sometimes of real property; —see also LEGACY, LEGATEE —compare DEVISE
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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