Begets

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To bring about or cause something to happen ; to become the biological father of a child
2. To produce or generate an effect or result ; to be the male parent of a child
3. To give rise to or lead to something new ; to sire or create offspring biologically

Etymology: "Begets" is the third-person singular form of "beget", so the core story belongs to the verb itself. Its roots lie in the Old English "beġietan", meaning "to get" in the sense of finding or seizing something, built from the prefix "be-" and the verb "get". The "be-" here is an intensifying or completive element, so the original sense was closer to acquiring or obtaining something outright. The word's meaning drifted from literal acquisition toward the idea of producing or bringing something into being. Over the centuries, to "beget" came to mean to father a child, and then more broadly to generate or give rise to a result, which is the sense in your context. The Middle English form was also shaped by Old Norse "geta", meaning "to get" or "to guess", which reinforced the word's existing sense of getting hold of something.

Synonyms: produces, causes, generates, brings about, creates

Antonyms: destroys, eliminates, terminates, stifles, prevents