bequest
n.n. something, like money or property, that a person gives to someone else in their will after they die.
n. a gift of property or money made by a person in their will. Often used in legal or formal contexts to describe the transfer of assets upon death.
The old library was a generous bequest to the city.
The lawyer explained that the bequest would only be valid if the terms of the will were followed exactly.
The museum's collection was largely funded by a substantial bequest from a private collector, allowing the institution to expand its archives significantly.
From Middle English biqueste, bequeste (“will, testament, bequest”), from be + -quiste, queste (“saying, utterance, testament, will, legacy”), from Old English cwist, cwiss (“saying”) (compare Old English andcwiss, ġecwis, uncwisse, etc.), from Proto-Germanic kwissiz (“saying”), from Proto-Indo-European gʷet- (“to say”). Related to Old English andcwiss (“answer, reply”), Old English uncwisse (“dumb, mute”), Middle English bequethen (“to bequeath”). Not related to quest, which is from Latin. More at quoth, bequeath.
From Middle English biquesten, from the noun (see above).