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Glite Dictionary
⚡ To cause 👶 To father
to beget

to beget

8 9.9
To become the father of a child, especially in old or religious language
  • verb
  • /bɪˈɡɛt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : engendrar
  • And Sadumo begot Mgutu.
  • beget a child
  • begets a son

Examples

  • First know thou, I begot him on the empress.

    Titus (1999)

  • Besides that, should David beget a child by her and build the house of Saul?

    Fiction book (2001)

  • It's the business of this marriage to mind those two you have now... not to beget more.

    The Night of the Hunter (1955)

  • As you know, your brother must beget an heir.

    Torture Dungeon (1970)

  • Plant a palm tree, dig a well and beget a son.

    Black Gold (2011)

  • Twelve princes shall he beget.

    Abraham (1993)

  • And I assure you... ...that I will marry to beget heirs to the throne... ...when I am ready!

    Solomon (1997)

  • And so, in the best biblical sense, Patrick was begot by Edgar.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Therefore, l shall leave a son behind who will in turn beget other sons... ...so the succession will be unbroken and kings will be guaranteed forever.

    The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

  • In the ancient times, the king hoped to beget a strong heir to inherit his throne.

Synonyms

to get
vsto beget
∞ 1.0

To receive something, for example by buying it or finding it

means specifically becoming a child's father in old or biblical language
to father
vsto beget
32 2.7

To be the male parent of a child

is used in old or biblical language and sounds more formal or archaic
to sire
vsto beget
22 8.4

To father young animals or people

is used largely in old or biblical language rather than breeding talk
to generate
vsto beget
19 3.0

To make young animals or plants

is more archaic and refers specifically to a man becoming a child's parent
to bring forth
vsto beget
  • Literature
5 8.1

To give birth to a child or young animal

refers specifically to a man becoming a child's parent rather than giving birth
to engender
vsto beget
  • Archaic
2 7.2

To cause the birth of children or young animals

is older and more biblical in tone rather than merely formal

Surface Forms

beget infinitive
begetting present participle
begets third person singular
begot past
begotten past participle

Morphology

beget = get (opaque) = be + get

Although historically formed from 'be-' + 'get', the meanings ('to father' in biblical language) are not derivable by modern learners from 'get' and the prefix is not productively used this way.

Etymology

Beget comes from the old parts be- and get, and get means 'to obtain' or 'to get'. So to beget originally meant to 'get' a child — to become the father of a child — which is why it is used in old or Bible language to mean fathering.