begift

B3E1G2I1F4T1

verb

To entrust; endow.

OriginMiddle English bigiften →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

verbbegift (third-person singular simple present begifts, present participle begifting, simple past and past participle begifted)

present singular third person begifts · participle present begifting · participle past begifted · past begifted

  1. transitiveTo entrust; endow.

    I suspect, for instance, that Bill Gates might not have wanted to begift such a program with the Microsoft name.

    2005, Philip R. Sullivan, The World According To Homo Sapiens
  2. transitiveTo give a gift or gifts to; bestow or present with gifts.

    They are harangued, bedinnered, begifted,[...]

    1838, Thomas Carlyle, The French revolution: a history
    2 more examples

    Mr. EH Cooper protests against the extravagant manner in which the children of the well-to-do are "amused" and begifted at Christmas: [...]

    1905, William Thomas Stead, The Review of reviews

    If you are an occasional reader and would like to receive the magazine regularly — or if you are a subscriber and would like to begift a friend, colleague or relative — use the form below.

    1974, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
  3. transitiveTo give as a gift.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
endow

Origin

  1. Middle Englishbigiften“to entrust”
  2. Englishbegift

From Middle English bigiften (“to entrust”), equivalent to be- + gift. Cognate with Dutch begiften (“to endow”), German begiften (“to endow”), Swedish begåva (“to endow, dower”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

begift. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begift

MLA

“begift.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begift. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “begift,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begift.

Source: begift on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.