Meanings
bequest1
plural bequests
- The act of bequeathing or leaving by will.
- The transfer of property upon the owner's death according to the will of the deceased.
1 more example
2006 SHERRY CLODMAN & EDWARD H. PEARCE: Well Advised. p.25 Civil Sector Press →ISBN A specific bequest is the gift of a specific sum of money, or the gift of a specific property or a particular asset. Perhaps the most common type of bequest, and undoubtedly the most certain, it is the first to be paid after the settlement of estate debts.
- That which is left by will; a legacy.
- That which has been handed down or transmitted.
Yet some odor of religion is still lingering here, the bequest of pious souls, who had grace to enjoy a foretaste of immortal life.
1846, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The New Adam and Eve”, in Mosses from an Old Manse - A person's inheritance; an amount of property given by will.
bequest2
present singular third person bequests · participle present bequesting · participle past bequested · past bequested
- transitiveTo give as a bequest; bequeath.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
bequest · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷet-“to say”
- Proto-Germanic*kwissiz“saying”
- Old English*cwist
- Middle Englishbiqueste
- Englishbequest
From Middle English biqueste, bequeste (“will, testament, bequest”), from be- + quiste, queste (“saying, utterance, testament, will, legacy”), from Old English *cwist, *cwiss (“saying”) (compare Old English andcwiss, ġecwis, uncwisse, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *kwissiz (“saying”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷet- (“to say”). Related to Old English andcwiss (“answer, reply”), Old English uncwisse (“dumb, mute”), Middle English bequethen (“to bequeath”). Not related to quest, which is from Latin. More at quoth, bequeath.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →bequest · verb
- Middle Englishbiquesten
- Englishbequest
From Middle English biquesten, from the noun (see above).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian завещание, наследство
- завещание (zaveštanie)will of the deceased
- наследство (nasledstvo)a person's inheritance
Danish dødsgave, dødslejegave
- dødsgavea person's inheritance
- dødslejegavea person's inheritance
Esperanto testamentaĵo
- testamentaĵowill of the deceased
Finnish testamenttilahjoitus
- testamenttilahjoitusa person's inheritance
French testament, héritage
- testamentwill of the deceased
- héritagea person's inheritance
- legsa person's inheritance
German Testament, Erbschaft
- Testamentwill of the deceased
- Erbschafta person's inheritance
- vererbengive as a bequest
- vermachengive as a bequest
Icelandic dánargjöf
- dánargjöfa person's inheritance
Irish tiomna
- tiomnawill of the deceased
Italian lascito, testamento
- lascitowill of the deceased
- testamentowill of the deceased
- volontàwill of the deceased
- ereditàa person's inheritance
Latin lēgātum
- lēgātuma person's inheritance
Māori oha, oha
- ohawill of the deceased
- ohagive as a bequest
- tukuohagive as a bequest
Norwegian testament
- testamentwill of the deceased
Norwegian Bokmål testamentarisk gave, legat
- testamentarisk gavea person's inheritance
- legata person's inheritance
Polish zapis, legat
- zapiswill of the deceased
- legatwill of the deceased
- spadeka person's inheritance
- legata person's inheritance
- zapisywaćgive as a bequest
- zapisaćgive as a bequest
- pozostawiaćgive as a bequest
- pozostawićgive as a bequest
Portuguese testamento
- testamentowill of the deceased
Russian завещание, насле́дство
- завещание (zaveščanije)will of the deceased
- насле́дство (naslédstvo)a person's inheritance
- завещать (zaveščatʹ)give as a bequest
Scottish Gaelic tiomnadh
- tiomnadhwill of the deceased
Spanish testamento, herencia
- testamentowill of the deceased
- herenciaa person's inheritance
- heredada person's inheritance
Swedish legat, testamentsgåva
- legata person's inheritance
- testamentsgåvaa person's inheritance
- postum gåvaa person's inheritance
Ukrainian запові́т, спа́док
- запові́т (zapovít)will of the deceased
- спа́док (spádok)a person's inheritance
- спа́дщина (spádščyna)a person's inheritance
- заповіда́ти (zapovidáty)give as a bequest
- заповісти́ (zapovistý)give as a bequest
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with bequest
Cite this entry
bequest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bequest
“bequest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bequest. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bequest,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bequest.
Source: bequest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.