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definitions

bequeath

[ bih-kweeth, -kweeth ]
/ bɪˈkwið, -ˈkwiθ /
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verb (used with object)

to dispose of (personal property, especially money) by last will: She bequeathed her half of the company to her niece.
to hand down; pass on.
Obsolete. to commit; entrust.

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RELATED WORDS

endowment, inheritance, settlement, legacy, estate, gift, devise, dower, bestowal, heritage, trust, devisal, ancestry, bequeathment

Nearby words

  1. beothuk,
  2. beowulf,
  3. bepaint,
  4. bepester,
  5. bepuzzle,
  6. bequest,
  7. ber. is.,
  8. berachah,
  9. berakah,
  10. berakhah

Origin of bequeath

before 1000; Middle English bequethen, Old English becwethan (be- be- + cwethan to say (see quoth), cognate with Old High German quedan, Gothic qithan)
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for bequeathal

bequeath

/ (bɪˈkwiːð, -ˈkwiːθ) /

verb (tr)

law to dispose of (property, esp personal property) by willCompare devise (def. 2)
to hand down; pass on, as to following generations
Derived Formsbequeather, nounbequeathal, noun

Word Origin for bequeath

Old English becwethan; related to Old Norse kvetha to speak, Gothic qithan, Old High German quethan
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 bequeathal

bequeath

v.

Old English becweðan "to say, speak to, exhort, blame," also "leave by will;" from be- + cweðan "to say," from Proto-Germanic *kwithan, from PIE *gwet- "to say, speak."

Original sense of "say, utter" died out 13c., leaving legal sense of "transfer by will." Closely related to bequest. "An old word kept alive in wills" [OED 1st ed.]. Old English bequeðere meant "interpreter, translator." Related: Bequeathed; bequeathing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper