WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Be*queath"
Part of Speech : v.
Etymology : [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe to say, speak. See Quoth.]
Definition : 1. To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. My heritage, which my dead father did bequeath to me. Shak.

2. To hand down; to transmit. To bequeath posterity somewhat to remember it. Glanvill.

3. To give; to offer; to commit. [Obs.] To whom, with all submission, on my knee I do bequeath my faithful services And true subjection everlastingly. Shak.

Syn. -- To Bequeath, Devise. Both these words denote the giving or disposing of property by will. Devise, in legal usage, is property used to denote a gift by will of real property, and he to whom it is given is called the devisee. Bequeath is properly applied to a gift by will or legacy; i. e., of personal property; the gift is called a legacy, and he who receives it is called a legatee. In popular usage the word bequeath is sometimes enlarged so as to embrace devise; and it is sometimes so construed by courts.

t. [imp. & p. p. Bequeathed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bequeathing.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913