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begotten

[bih-got-n]
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verb
  1. a past participle of beget.
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Related formsself-be·got·ten, adjectivewell-be·got·ten, adjective

beget

[bih-get]
verb (used with object), be·got or (Archaic) be·gat; be·got·ten or be·got; be·get·ting.
  1. (especially of a male parent) to procreate or generate (offspring).
  2. to cause; produce as an effect: a belief that power begets power.
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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
Related formsbe·get·ter, noun

Synonyms

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1. spawn, sire, breed, father. 2. occasion, engender, effect, generate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for begotten

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Had they not begotten as many beings as the tree had begotten branches?

    Fruitfulness

    Emile Zola

  • Are they not all the works of his wisdom, born and begotten of him?

  • There were thistles in everybody's crop, and after all it was a good thing to have begotten a girl.

  • Indeed, it is largely of their disputes that the mystery is begotten.

  • There for an hour or so in such agony of mind as is begotten only of suspense.

    The Shame of Motley

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for begotten

begotten

verb
  1. a past participle of beget
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beget

verb -gets, -getting, -got, -gat, -gotten or -got (tr)
  1. to father
  2. to cause or create
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Derived Formsbegetter, noun

Word Origin

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 begotten

adj.

late 14c., past participle adjective from beget.

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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper