To give or leave something to someone in a will after death, especially money or property.
From Old English 'bequethan' where 'be-' is a prefix and 'quethan' means 'to say' or 'to declare.' Literally means 'to declare to' or 'to say beforehand.' The word evolved to specifically mean leaving things in a will.
This is one of the oldest words still in English—'quethan' goes back over 1,000 years! Wealthy people in Anglo-Saxon times needed a special word for the legal act of leaving property after death, so they invented 'bequeath.' It's still the perfect word for that purpose.
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