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bequeath - 5 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.
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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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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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Language Translation for : bequeath
Spanish: legar, ceder,
German: vererben,
Japanese: 遺言で贈る
More Translations »

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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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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