bequest
Americannoun
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a disposition in a will.
-
a legacy.
A small bequest allowed her to live independently.
noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing bequest
Beowulf vocabulary
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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Pygmalion
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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.
Their care was funded by great commercial wealth—among the most compelling characters here is the man whose bequest first financed the Innocenti: Francesco Datini, a preposterously wealthy, libidinous and melancholy-prone merchant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
A promise or statement of intent is not the same as a bequest or beneficiary designation.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 20, 2025
British scientist James Smithson’s bequest was intended to support “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
From Salon • Aug. 22, 2025
The case landed in the Court of Chancery - where Elizabeth argued her late husband had no power to grant Shakespeare's home and mentioned her grandfather's bequest to her mother.
From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025
“Nonsense! and what sort of an effect will the bequest have on you? Will it keep you in England, induce you to marry Miss Oliver, and settle down like an ordinary mortal?”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
