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

began, begar, begat, begats, begem, beget, beggar, beggar description, beggar's opera, the, beggar's-lice, beggar-my-neighbor

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 forms

be·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 Forms

begetter, 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