bequest

American  

[bih-kwest] / bɪˈkwɛst /

noun

1. a disposition in a will.

2. a legacy.

   A small bequest allowed her to live independently.

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bequest British  

/ bɪˈkwɛst /

noun

1. 1. the act of bequeathing

   2. something that is bequeathed

2. law a gift of property by will, esp personal property Compare devise devise

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Etymology

Origin of bequest

1250–1300; Middle English biqueste, biquyste, equivalent to bi- be- + quiste will, bequest, Old English -cwis ( se ) (with excrescent t, as in behest ), noun derivative of cwethan to say; on the model of bequethen bequeath

Explanation

When you receive some kind of gift, be it money or property, through a will, that gift is known as a bequest. Your aunt left you a bequest of the earrings she always thought you admired. The noun bequest is something one arranges to give away after death, sort of a gift from beyond the grave. Basically, putting a bequest in a will is a way of making sure the right person will get certain goods after your death. If you are very wealthy, universities and charitable organizations may court you in an attempt to gain bequests for their institutions.

Example Sentences

That’s a father’s bequest to his son, and a public servant’s to his country.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

A promise or statement of intent is not the same as a bequest or beneficiary designation.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 20, 2025

Perhaps its most lasting bequest to television, however, is the messy friend defined by Dunham’s Hannah Horvath.

From Salon • Jul. 10, 2025

The left-field bequest — as if tending to Walter’s legacy with an overdue book of his correspondence wasn’t enough — is, to Iris, a mystery on top of a conundrum.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2025

In the embers of the last days of the Roman Empire we are able, out of centuries of silence, to hear the only living musical bequest of the Ancient World.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• endowment
• inheritance