bequeath

American  

[bih-kweeth, -kweeth] / bɪˈkwiθ, -ˈkwið /

verb (used with object)

1. to dispose of (personal property, especially money) by last will.

   She bequeathed her half of the company to her niece.

   Synonyms:

   consign, grant, bestow, leave, impart, will

2. to hand down; pass on.

3. Obsolete. to commit; entrust.

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bequeath British  

/ bɪˈkwiːð, -ˈkwiːθ /

verb

1. law to dispose of (property, esp personal property) by will Compare devise

2. to hand down; pass on, as to following generations

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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

The world they bequeathed to us was immeasurably better than the world they'd inherited from their parents.

From BBC

He points out in a note that profit growth of 1% relative to the average of the prior two quarters was lower than the 1.7% benefit bequeathed by the period’s 1.5 extra days.

From The Wall Street Journal

And yet you can’t bequeath to your children a crust of bread.

From The Wall Street Journal

If your friend has a valuable piece of jewelry she may wish to bequeath those to a sister or aunt or niece.

From MarketWatch

“We maintain ourselves in existence,” he says, “through a style bequeathed to us by our Rilkean memories.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bestow
• entrust
• hand down
• impart
• pass on