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DictionarybegetCause
verb

beget

bih-GET/bɪˈɡet/

To bring something into existence as its originator.

The tipped candle begets a curtain fire that activates the sprinklers.

A tipped candle ignites a curtain, the curtain sets off sprinklers, and people rush in response, making one event visibly give rise to another.
Etymology
begetOld Englishto acquire, obtain

Old English begietan meant to obtain or acquire. Its later sense, “father offspring,” supplies the image behind the broader meaning: to bring about a result as though producing offspring.

In context

Nesta8:51
Clear results beget greater ambition,
James Anderson at LabWorks: How can innovation labs rise to the challenge?
Robert Reich5:20
Wealth doesn't just beget more wealth - it begets more POWER.
How Wealth Inequality Spiraled Out of Control | Robert Reich

More examples

  • The old genealogy states that he begot three sons.
  • One useful discovery can beget many new questions.
  • The policy has begotten problems its authors never expected.

Forms

beget · begets · begot · begotten · begetting

Similar words

cause
The broader everyday term without the image of parentage.
father
Specifically originates something or becomes a biological male parent.