Bequeath

verb

verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To give or leave by will; to give by testament.
  2. 2
    leave or give by will after one's death wordnet
  3. 3
    To hand down; to transmit.

    "Ownership of manufacturing workshops is not essential to that job; but BR happen to have been bequeathed a considerable number with a proud history."

  4. 4
    To give; to offer; to commit.

    "These young gay men and lesbians were more militant and began to reject advice from the homophile movement to try to "fit into" society, not to make waves, and to rely on professionals and establishment figures to bequeath them social rights."

Synonyms

All synonyms
leaveleavedoabalienateadd a codicilalien

Example

More examples

"Ownership of manufacturing workshops is not essential to that job; but BR happen to have been bequeathed a considerable number with a proud history."

Etymology

From Middle English biquethen, from Old English becweþan (“to say, to speak, to address, exhort, admonish, blame, bequeath, leave by will”), equivalent to be- + quethe. Cognate with Old Frisian biquetha.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.