beget

[bih-get]

verb (used with object)

begot , begat, begotten, begot, begetting. .

1. (especially of a male parent) to procreate or generate (offspring).

   Synonyms: father, breed, sire, spawn

2. to cause; produce as an effect.

   a belief that power begets power.

   Synonyms: generate, effect, engender, occasion

beget

/ bɪˈɡɛt /

verb

1. to father

2. to cause or create

Other Word Forms

• begetter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of beget¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English begeten ( be-, get ); replacing Middle English biyeten, Old English begetan; cognate with Gothic bigitan, Old High German bigezzan

Word History and Origins

Origin of beget¹

Old English begietan ; related to Old Saxon bigetan , Old High German pigezzan , Gothic bigitan to find; see _be- , _get

Example Sentences

But after days of focus on the gender identity of the suspect’s alleged partner, the far-right’s response has also fueled a deluge of anti-trans rhetoric that could beget more violence.

From Salon

The hayseed county that begat Richard Nixon and the boysenberry also bestowed the Righteous Brothers’ “blue-eyed soul” and the drive-in church upon the world.

From Los Angeles Times

Like “Mare,” the main crime begets others, on and on through the finish.

From Salon

And in the course of this year I gave myself, I got the show “Godspell,” and that begat other things.

From Los Angeles Times

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bring about 
• engender 
• sire