Bigetan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An Old English verb meaning to obtain, get or acquire something by one's own effort or by chance
2. A archaic Old English term for gaining or procuring a thing that one did not previously possess
3. Old English verb describing the act of getting hold of, obtaining or coming into possession of something

Etymology: In Old English, "bigetan" meant to get, obtain, or acquire something, and it was formed by adding the prefix "be-" to the simpler verb "getan," which carried the same sense of gaining or seizing. The prefix mostly strengthened the idea, so the verb suggested reaching or securing a thing. The verb's later history is the surprise. Over the Middle Ages its sense narrowed until it meant specifically to father a child. Biblical genealogies, with their long run of "begat" lines in English translations, likely helped fix that narrower meaning. A verb once about acquiring anything became a term for procreation alone.