Devise and bequeath

Part of the will of William Shakespeare, which uses "give, device, and bequeath."

A devise is real property given by will.[1] A bequest is personal property given by will.[2] Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to their combination in many wills as devise and bequeath, a legal doublet. The phrase give, devise, and bequeath, a legal triplet, has been used for centuries, including the will of William Shakespeare.

The word bequeath is a verb form for the act of making a bequest.[3]

  1. ^ Devise
  2. ^ Black's Law Dictionary 8th ed, (West Group, 2004)
  3. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bequest". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 761.