Begats

/bɪˈɡæts/ verb

Definition

Third person singular present tense of 'begat'; fathers or produces offspring; causes or brings about.

Etymology

From 'beget' (Old English 'begietan,' from 'be-' plus 'gietan,' to get or obtain). 'Begat' is the archaic past tense, and 'begats' would be a modern present-tense variant, though archaic or poetic.

Kelly Says

The verb 'beget' is famous from Biblical genealogies—'Abraham begat Isaac'—where it literally means to father children, but it's also used metaphorically to mean 'causes' or 'produces,' as in 'violence begets violence.'

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