Beget

Beget is a transitive verb meaning to cause to come into existence or to generate offspring. In biological contexts it refers to the act of conception that results in a child; in broader usage it can denote producing outcomes or effects. Beget is often found in formal, religious, or literary contexts, and in everyday speech people may choose words like generate, produce, or have a child instead.

The verb is irregular. Present tense begets; past tense begat or begot; past participle begotten; present participle begetting. The noun form begotten is the past participle and, in older or theological language, can appear as an adjective (the begotten Son).

Etymology: beget comes from Old English begietan, formed with be- plus getan meaning “to obtain” or “to acquire.” The sense related to producing offspring developed in the medieval period, influenced by semantic shifts in Germanic languages.

Usage notes: metaphorical uses are common, as in “war begets destruction” or “kindness begets kindness.” The term can sound archaic or formal outside religious or historical writing. In contemporary biology or everyday speech, more common terms are procreate, generate, or have a child, while beget emphasizes causation or generative power in a more elevated register.

Related terms include procreate, generate, engender, sire, reproduce, and offspring.