1.
[syn: bequest, legacy]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bequest \Be*quest"\, n. [OE. biquest, corrupted fr. bequide;
pref. be- + AS. cwide a saying, becwe[eth]an to bequeath. The
ending -est is probably due to confusion with quest. See
Bequeath, Quest.]
1. The act of bequeathing or leaving by will; as, a bequest
of property by A. to B.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which is left by will, esp. personal property; a
legacy; also, a gift.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bequest \Be*quest"\, v. t.
To bequeath, or leave as a legacy. [Obs.] "All I have to
bequest." --Gascoigne.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bequest
n 1: (law) a gift of personal property by will [syn: bequest,
legacy]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
31 Moby Thesaurus words for "bequest":
attested copy, bequeathal, birthright, borough-English, codicil,
coheirship, coparcenary, devise, entail, gavelkind, heirloom,
heirship, hereditament, heritable, heritage, heritance,
incorporeal hereditament, inheritance, law of succession, legacy,
line of succession, mode of succession, patrimony,
postremogeniture, primogeniture, probate, reversion, succession,
testament, ultimogeniture, will
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
BEQUEST. A gift by last will or testament; a legacy. (q. v.) This word is
sometimes, though improperly used, as synonymous with devise. There is,
however, a distinction between them. A bequest is applied, more properly, to
a gift by will of a legacy, that is, of personal property; devise is
properly a gift by testament of real property. Vide Devise.