Definition of "bequest" []

• The act of giving, leaving by will, or passing on to another. (noun)
• Something that is bequeathed; a legacy. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Looking at my own situation, if I die early and leave a large bequest "by mistake," that will come when my children still need it, whereas if I live longer and the bequest is diminished, that will be after my children have had time to establish themselves."
• "In 1936, a bequest from the estates of Maud Walker-Ames and Edwin Gardner Ames established a fund that the university uses to"
• "Joseph Henry stated in his first annual report in 1847 in considering the role of the Institution in formally accepting the bequest of James Smithson: The bequest is for the benefit of mankind."