bequest
Americannoun
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a disposition in a will.
-
a legacy.
A small bequest allowed her to live independently.
noun
Etymology
Origin of bequest
1250–1300; Middle English biqueste, biquyste, equivalent to bi- be- + quiste will, bequest, Old English -cwis ( se ) (with excrescent t, as in behest ), noun derivative of cwethan to say; on the model of bequethen bequeath
Explanation
When you receive some kind of gift, be it money or property, through a will, that gift is known as a bequest. Your aunt left you a bequest of the earrings she always thought you admired. The noun bequest is something one arranges to give away after death, sort of a gift from beyond the grave. Basically, putting a bequest in a will is a way of making sure the right person will get certain goods after your death. If you are very wealthy, universities and charitable organizations may court you in an attempt to gain bequests for their institutions.
Vocabulary lists containing bequest
Beowulf vocabulary
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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Pygmalion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Photograph: Tate/Trustees Of The Chantrey Bequest How many ways are there to tell the story of British art?
From The Guardian • May 3, 2013
Besides, the words Legacy, Bequest, go side by side with the words, Death, Funeral.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Besides, the words Legacy, Bequest, go side by side with the words, Death, Funeral.
From Jane Eyre by Townsend, F. H.
—Were the beautiful lines entitled "Lady Flora's Bequest" in reality written by that lamented lady?
From Notes and Queries, Vol. III, Number 87, June 28, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Various
Her picture called the "Morning Bath," exhibited at the Academy in 1896, was purchased under the Chantry Bequest and is in the Tate Gallery.
From Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. by Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
