Beget is a verb meaning "to father offspring; to give rise to". Historically, it is from Old English beġietan ('to get, acquire, beget'), from be- + ġietan ('to get'). The sense narrowed to 'to procreate' in Middle English. The visible construction is part of the etymology: beget is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "to father offspring; to give rise to", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Old English be- with Old English ġietan. Close English family members include begotten, begetter, begetting, begot, and get.