begift

English edit

From Middle English bigiften (“to entrust”), equivalent to be- +‎ gift. Cognate with Dutch begiften (“to endow”), German begaben (“to endow”), Swedish begåva (“to endow, dower”).

begift (third-person singular simple present begifts, present participle begifting, simple past and past participle begifted)

(transitive) To entrust; endow.
- 2005, Philip R. Sullivan, The World According To Homo Sapiens:
  I suspect, for instance, that Bill Gates might not have wanted to begift such a program with the Microsoft name.
(transitive) To give a gift or gifts to; bestow or present with gifts.
- 1838, Thomas Carlyle, The French revolution: a history:
  They are harangued, bedinnered, begifted,[...]
- 1905, William Thomas Stead, The Review of reviews:
  Mr. EH Cooper protests against the extravagant manner in which the children of the well-to-do are "amused" and begifted at Christmas: [...]
- 1974, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:
  If you are an occasional reader and would like to receive the magazine regularly — or if you are a subscriber and would like to begift a friend, colleague or relative — use the form below.
(transitive) To give as a gift.