8 results for: Bequeath
be·queath
Audio Help [bi-kweeth
, -kweeth] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [bi-kweeth
, -kweeth] Pronunciation Key –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. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Bequeath
To learn more about Bequeath visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| be·queath
Audio Help (bĭ-kwēth', -kwēth') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. be·queathed, be·queath·ing, be·queaths
[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 © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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 |
| bequeath | |
verb | |
| leave or give by will after one's death; "My aunt bequeathed me all her jewelry"; "My grandfather left me his entire estate" [ant: disinherit] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
bequeath [biˈkwiːð] verb
to leave (personal belongings) by will
Example: She bequeathed her art collection to the town.
See also: bequestExample: She bequeathed her art collection to the town.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
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. |
Bequeath
Be*queath"\ (b[-e]*kw[=e][th]"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bequeathed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bequeathing.] [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe[eth]an to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe[eth]an to say, speak. See Quoth.]1. To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. My heritage, which my dead father did bequeath to me. --Shak. 2. To hand down; to transmit. To bequeath posterity somewhat to remember it. --Glanvill. 3. To give; to offer; to commit. [Obs.] To whom, with all submission, on my knee I do bequeath my faithful services And true subjection everlastingly. --Shak. Syn: To Bequeath, Devise. Usage: Both these words denote the giving or disposing of property by will. Devise, in legal usage, is property used to denote a gift by will of real property, and he to whom it is given is called the devisee. Bequeath is properly applied to a gift by will or legacy; i. e., of personal property; the gift is called a legacy, and he who receives it is called a legatee. In popular usage the word bequeath is sometimes enlarged so as to embrace devise; and it is sometimes so construed by courts.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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