Search Result for "bequest": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. (law) a gift of personal property by will;
[syn: bequest, legacy]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Bequest \Be*quest"\, n. [OE. biquest, corrupted fr. bequide; pref. be- + AS. cwide a saying, becwe[eth]an to bequeath. The ending -est is probably due to confusion with quest. See Bequeath, Quest.] 1. The act of bequeathing or leaving by will; as, a bequest of property by A. to B. [1913 Webster] 2. That which is left by will, esp. personal property; a legacy; also, a gift. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Bequest \Be*quest"\, v. t. To bequeath, or leave as a legacy. [Obs.] "All I have to bequest." --Gascoigne. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

bequest n 1: (law) a gift of personal property by will [syn: bequest, legacy]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

31 Moby Thesaurus words for "bequest": attested copy, bequeathal, birthright, borough-English, codicil, coheirship, coparcenary, devise, entail, gavelkind, heirloom, heirship, hereditament, heritable, heritage, heritance, incorporeal hereditament, inheritance, law of succession, legacy, line of succession, mode of succession, patrimony, postremogeniture, primogeniture, probate, reversion, succession, testament, ultimogeniture, will
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

BEQUEST. A gift by last will or testament; a legacy. (q. v.) This word is sometimes, though improperly used, as synonymous with devise. There is, however, a distinction between them. A bequest is applied, more properly, to a gift by will of a legacy, that is, of personal property; devise is properly a gift by testament of real property. Vide Devise.