bequeath

Verb
US[bih-kweeth]/bɪˈkwiθ/2 syllables
Synonyms: willleave

Open English WordNet

Verb (1)bequeathed, bequeathing

  1. leave or give by will after one's death“My aunt bequeathed me all her jewelry”“My grandfather left me his entire estate”Synonyms: willleaveOpposite disinheritMore general give, giftMore specific remember, pass on, fee-tail, deviseSimilar leave, impart
Word of the day · Oct 4About this word
ebullientadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Be·queath′ (bē-kwēt͟h′), transitive verb [past tense & past participle Bequeathed (…); present participle & verbal noun Bequeathing.]

Origin: OE. biquethen, AS. becweðan to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cweðan 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.— William Shakespeare

2. To hand down; to transmit.

To bequeath posterity somewhat to remember it.— Joseph Glanvill

3. To give; to offer; to commit. obsolete

To whom, with all submission, on my knee I do bequeath my faithful services And true subjection everlastingly.— William Shakespeare

Synonyms: To Bequeath, Devise. 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.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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