bequest
noun
- act of giving (not the act of receiving) property by will
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /bɪˈkwɛst/
noun
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.
- 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.”
- A person's inheritance; an amount of property given by will.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English biquesten, from the noun (see above).
- To give as a bequest; bequeath.