In the beginning, there was
begietan, and begietan begot beyeten; then in the days of Middle English
beyeten begot begeten. All of the Old English and Middle English ancestors
above basically meant the same thing as the modern beget—that is, "to father"
or "to produce as an effect or outgrowth." That linguistic line with
the prefix mis- (meaning "wrongly" or "badly") brought
forth misbegotten.
