bequest en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
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.
Meanings
- The act of bequeathing or leaving by will.
-
The transfer of property upon the owner's death according to the will of the deceased.
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.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| bequests | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
bequeathal · donation · legacy · gift
Translations (45)
nn testamentarisk gåve (a person's inheritance) · bg наследство (a person's inheritance) · ru насле́дство (a person's inheritance) · fo arvleiddur serarvur (a person's inheritance) · gl legado (will of the deceased) · gl herdanza (a person's inheritance) · gl testamento (will of the deceased) · ga tiomna (will of the deceased) · uk запові́т (will of the deceased) · gl manda (a person's inheritance) · es herencia (a person's inheritance) · it lascito (will of the deceased) · nb legat (a person's inheritance) · is dánargjöf (a person's inheritance) · bg завещание (will of the deceased) · gl manda (will of the deceased) · fr legs (a person's inheritance) · sv postum gåva (a person's inheritance) · da dødslejegave (a person's inheritance) · uk спа́док (a person's inheritance) · fi testamenttilahjoitus (a person's inheritance) · de Testament (will of the deceased) · sv legat (a person's inheritance) · nb testamentarisk gave (a person's inheritance) · mi oha (will of the deceased) · ru завещание (will of the deceased) · la lēgātum (a person's inheritance) · fr testament (will of the deceased) · it testamento (will of the deceased) · uk спа́дщина (a person's inheritance) · gd tiomnadh (will of the deceased) · it eredità (a person's inheritance) · de Erbschaft (a person's inheritance) · pt testamento (will of the deceased) · it volontà (will of the deceased) · gl legado (a person's inheritance) · sv testamentsgåva (a person's inheritance) · es testamento (will of the deceased) · fr héritage (a person's inheritance) · fo stakarvur (a person's inheritance) · eo testamentaĵo (will of the deceased) · da dødsgave (a person's inheritance) · no testament (will of the deceased) · mk наследство (a person's inheritance) · es heredad (a person's inheritance)