Where does “bequeather” come from?
bequeather (English) comes from English bequeath, from Middle English biquethen, from Old English becweþan, from Old English be-, from Old English hrōpan, from Proto-West Germanic hrōpan, from Proto-Germanic hrōpaną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- — army.
bequeather (English): One who bequeaths
Ancestry of “bequeather”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | bequeath | To give or leave by will; to give by testament;... |
| 2 | Middle English | biquethen | — |
| 3 | Old English | becweþan | to say or assert; to reproach; to bequeath |
| 4 | Old English | be- | a productive prefix usually used to form verbs... |
| 5 | Old English | hrōpan | to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl; to cry... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | hrōpan | to cry out, to call, to shout |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hrōpaną | to cry out, call, shout |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |