begrave

B3E1G2R1A1V4E1

verb

To bury.

OriginMiddle English begraven ← Old English begrafan ← Proto-Germanic *bigrabaną →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbbegrave (third-person singular simple present begraves, present participle begraving, simple past begraved or begrove, past participle begraved or begrove or begraven)

present singular third person begraves · participle present begraving · past begraved · past begrove · participle past begraved · participle past begrove · participle past begraven

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo bury.
  2. obsoletetransitiveTo engrave.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*bigrabaną“to dig around, bury”
  2. Old Englishbegrafan“to bury”
  3. Middle Englishbegraven
  4. Englishbegrave

From Middle English begraven, from Old English begrafan (“to bury”), from Proto-Germanic *bigrabaną (“to dig around, bury”), equivalent to be- + grave. Cognate with Saterland Frisian begreeuwe (“to bury”), West Frisian begrave (“to bury”), Dutch begraven (“to bury”), German begraben (“to bury”), Danish begrave (“to bury”), Swedish begrava (“to bury”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (bigraban, “to dig around”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

begrave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begrave

MLA

“begrave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begrave. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “begrave,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begrave.

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