bequeath
Americanverb
-
law to dispose of (property, esp personal property) by will Compare devise
-
to hand down; pass on, as to following generations
Other Word Forms
- bequeathable adjective
- bequeathal noun
- bequeather noun
- bequeathment noun
- unbequeathable adjective
Etymology
Origin of bequeath
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bequethen, Old English becwethan ( be- be- + cwethan “to say” ( quoth ), cognate with Old High German quedan, Gothic qithan )
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.
Chambas told the Security Council that when AU leaders adopted the silencing the guns initiative “they were motivated by the desire to bequeath future generations of Africans a continent free of wars and conflicts.”
From Seattle Times
Forty percent of her estate was then bequeathed to her niece, the report noted, meaning that if the painting were to be sold, a portion of the revenue would legally belong to her niece’s children.
From New York Times
And yet the United States has failed to bequeath Americans most of the rights it now accuses TikTok of threatening.
From Washington Post
"In general, as we age, men are bequeathed gravitas but women are at best offered sympathy," she writes.
From BBC
As with claims that you’ve just won a lottery or sweepstakes, it’s highly unlikely a total stranger bequeathed you a mountain of money.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
