Adjacent Words

Bequeath definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BEQUE'ATH, v.t. [Eng.quoth.] To give or leave by will; to devise some species of property by testament; as, to bequeath an estate or a legacy.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: leave or give by will after one's death; "My aunt bequeathed me all her jewelry"; "My grandfather left me his entire estate" [syn: bequeath, will, leave] [ant: disinherit, disown]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English bequethen, from Old English becwethan, from be- + cwethan to say — more at quoth Date: before 12th century 1. to give or leave by will — used especially of personal property 2. to hand down ; transmit • bequeathal noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 leave (a personal estate) to a person by a will. 2 hand down to posterity. Derivatives: bequeathal n. bequeather n. Etymology: OE becwethan (as BE-, cwethan say: cf. QUOTH)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bequeath Be*queath" (b[-e]*kw[=e][th]"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bequeathed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bequeathing.] [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe[eth]an to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe[eth]an to say, speak. See Quoth.] 1. To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. My heritage, which my dead father did bequeath to me. --Shak. 2. To hand down; to transmit. To bequeath posterity somewhat to remember it. --Glanvill. 3. To give; to offer; to commit. [Obs.] To whom, with all submission, on my knee I do bequeath my faithful services And true subjection everlastingly. --Shak. Syn: To Bequeath, Devise. Usage: Both these words denote the giving or disposing of property by will. Devise, in legal usage, is property used to denote a gift by will of real property, and he to whom it is given is called the devisee. Bequeath is properly applied to a gift by will or legacy; i. e., of personal property; the gift is called a legacy, and he who receives it is called a legatee. In popular usage the word bequeath is sometimes enlarged so as to embrace devise; and it is sometimes so construed by courts.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bequeaths, bequeathing, bequeathed) 1. If you bequeath your money or property to someone, you legally state that they should have it when you die. (FORMAL) He bequeathed all his silver to his children. = leave VERB: V n to n 2. If you bequeath an idea or system, you leave it for other people to use or develop. (FORMAL) He bequeaths his successor an economy that is doing quite well... It is true that colonialism did not bequeath much to Africa. VERB: V n n, V n to n, also V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Leave, demise, devise, will, give by will. 2. Transmit, hand down, impart.

Moby Thesaurus

abalienate, add a codicil, alien, alienate, amortize, assign, barter, cede, confer, consign, convey, deed, deed over, deliver, demise, devise, devolve upon, enfeoff, entail, exchange, execute a will, give, give title to, hand, hand down, hand on, hand over, leave, legate, make a bequest, make a will, make over, negotiate, pass, pass on, pass over, sell, settle, settle on, sign away, sign over, surrender, trade, transfer, transmit, turn over, will, will and bequeath, will to