beget

/biˈɡɛt/

//biˈɡɛt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"beget" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beget” is uncommon English (frequency #59,888 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,888
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To produce or bring forth (a child); to be a parent of; to father or sire.

Corpus desk

Index EN-beget · beget · English

beget · rank #59,888 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,888
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beckon

Nearest frequency peer: beckon (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “beget”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “beget” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for beget
PropertyValue
Headwordbeget
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/biˈɡɛt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,888
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “beget” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).begetfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “beckon” (#59,887), “beautician” (#59,886), “Bellatrix” (#59,890). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “beget” is #59,888. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

beget is uncommon English at frequency #59,888 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /biˈɡɛt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for beget, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English begeten [influenced by Old Norse geta ("to get, to guess")], from Old English beġietan (“to get”), from Proto-Germanic *bigetaną (“to find, seize”), equivalent to be- + get. Cognate with Old Saxon bigetan (“to find, seize”), Old High Ger… The correct English form is beget, spelled B-E-G-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To produce or bring forth (a child); to be a parent of; to father or sire.
  2. 2
    To cause; to produce; to bring forth.
  3. 3
    To get or obtain.
  4. 4
    To happen to; befall.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how beget appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The King intends to beget a child within the next five years.
  2. ¶ And Adam liued an hundred and thirtie yeeres, and begate a ſonne in his owne likeneſſe, after his image; and called his name Seth.

Etymology

From Middle English begeten [influenced by Old Norse geta ("to get, to guess")], from Old English beġietan (“to get”), from Proto-Germanic *bigetaną (“to find, seize”), equivalent to be- + get. Cognate with Old Saxon bigetan (“to find, seize”), Old High German bigezan (“to gain, achieve, win, procure”).

This word in other languages

engendrar(Español)engendrer(Français)erzeugen(Deutsch)engendrar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "beget"?
"beget" is spelled B-E-G-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /biˈɡɛt/.
What does "beget" mean?
As a verb, "beget" means: To produce or bring forth (a child); to be a parent of; to father or sire.
How do you pronounce "beget"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beget" is /biˈɡɛt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "beget"?
From Middle English begeten [influenced by Old Norse geta ("to get, to guess")], from Old English beġietan (“to get”), from Proto-Germanic *bigetaną (“to find, seize”), equivalent to be- + get. Cognate with Old Saxon bigetan (“to find, seize”), Ol... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "beget", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

baste#59,881biddy#59,900Bakar#59,875Binks#59,903

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list