Dictionary.com
definitions

beget

[ bih-get ]
/ bɪˈgɛt /
||

verb (used with object), be·got or (Archaic) be·gat; be·got·ten or be·got; be·get·ting.

(especially of a male parent) to procreate or generate (offspring).
to cause; produce as an effect: a belief that power begets power.

RELATED WORDS

engender, sire, procreate, get, afford, breed, father, effect, reproduce, bring, produce, propagate, multiply, occasion, cause, generate

Nearby words

  1. began,
  2. begar,
  3. begat,
  4. begats,
  5. begem,
  6. begetter,
  7. beggar,
  8. beggar description,
  9. beggar's opera, the,
  10. beggar's-lice

Origin of beget

before 1000; Middle English begeten (see be-, get); replacing Middle English biyeten, Old English begetan; cognate with Gothic bigitan, Old High German bigezzan
SYNONYMS FOR beget
1 spawn, sire, breed, father.
2 occasion, engender, effect, generate.
Related formsbe·get·ter, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for begets

British Dictionary definitions for begets

beget

/ (bɪˈɡɛt) /

verb -gets, -getting, -got, -gat, -gotten or -got (tr)

to father
to cause or create
Derived Formsbegetter, noun

Word Origin for beget

Old English begietan; related to Old Saxon bigetan, Old High German pigezzan, Gothic bigitan to find; see be-, get
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for begets

beget

v.

Old English begietan "to get by effort, find, acquire, attain, seize" (class V strong verb, past tense begeat, past participle begeaton), from be- + get (v.). Sense of "to procreate" is from c.1200. Related to Old High German pigezzan, Gothic bigitan "to get, obtain." Related: Begot; begotten.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper