beget

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈɡɛt/ UK /bɪˈɡɛt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to father offspring; to give rise to

Violence tends only to beget further violence.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to father offspring; to... father sire procreate engender generate produce cause

Word family

Derived forms begottenbegetterbegettingbegot

Related forms get forget

Etymology

From Old English beġietan ('to get, acquire, beget'), from be- + ġietan ('to get'). The sense narrowed to 'to procreate' in Middle English.

be- Old English ġietan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# beget

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈɡɛt/
**IPA (UK):** /bɪˈɡɛt/

## Meanings
1. to father offspring; to give rise to

## Examples
- Violence tends only to beget further violence.

## Synonyms
- father
- sire
- procreate
- engender
- generate
- produce
- cause

## Derived Forms
- begotten
- begetter
- begetting
- begot

## Related Forms
- get
- forget

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: ġietan

## Etymology
From Old English beġietan ('to get, acquire, beget'), from be- + ġietan ('to get'). The sense narrowed to 'to procreate' in Middle English.

## AI Etymology
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.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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