verb
beget
bee-GEHT
verb
1
To father a child, or more broadly, to be the cause or origin of something.
"Violence often begets more violence."
"In old genealogies, kings were said to beget sons who would inherit the throne."
How to Use Beget
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo cause something to exist or happen, or (in old usage) to father a child.
When to use it
Fairly formal or literary today, apart from the common saying "X begets Y."
Common pairings
beget a child
violence begets violence
success begets success
Word Forms
begot past tense, begat past tense, begotten past tense, begets singular
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Etymology
From Old English beġietan ("to get"), from a Germanic root meaning to find or seize; the be- prefix intensifies the plain verb "get."