Bequest comes from Middle English biquest, from be- + Old English -cwiss ('saying, speech'), related to cwethan ('to say'); influenced by bequeath. The historical trail runs through be- in Old English and cwethan in Old English. Morphologically, bequest is transparent: it draws on Middle English biquest, from be- + Old English -cwiss ('saying, speech'), related to cwethan ('to say'). Used as a noun, bequest now means "something left to someone in a will; a legacy", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as bequeath and related forms such as bequeath. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.