Bequeather

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who leaves property or possessions to another through a will
2. An individual who grants their possessions or property to others via a will or legal arrangement upon their passing
3. A person who designates the transfer of assets or belongings to another individual upon their death through a legal document

Etymology: "Bequeather" is a plain formation: it takes "bequeath," meaning to hand down property by a will, and adds the agent suffix "-er," so that it names the person who does the bequeathing. Each part carries its meaning intact, so the word needs no special story to explain it. The verb behind it, "bequeath," is itself an older formation. The prefix "be-" here intensifies the sense of the base verb "queath," an Old English word for saying or declaring, so that to bequeath was to declare formally who should receive one's goods. The legal sense of handing property down by will was attached to that declaration, which is why the ancestor of the verb has always carried the flavour of a formal, deliberate act.

Synonyms: testator, donor