inheritance

[in-her-i-tuhns]

noun

1. something that is or may be inherited; property passing at the owner's death to the heir or those entitled to succeed; legacy.

   Synonyms: bequest, patrimony

2. the genetic characters transmitted from parent to offspring, taken collectively.

3. something, as a quality, characteristic, or other immaterial possession, received from progenitors or predecessors as if by succession.

   an inheritance of family pride.

4. the act or fact of inheriting by succession, as if by succession, or genetically.

   to receive property by inheritance.

5. portion; birthright; heritage.

   Absolute rule was considered the inheritance of kings.

6. Obsolete.,  right of possession; ownership.

inheritance

/ ɪnˈhɛrɪtəns /

noun

1. law

   1. hereditary succession to an estate, title, etc

   2. the right of an heir to succeed to property on the death of an ancestor

   3. something that may legally be transmitted to an heir

2. the act of inheriting

3. something inherited; heritage

4. the derivation of characteristics of one generation from an earlier one by heredity

5. obsolete,  hereditary rights

inheritance

1. The process by which traits or characteristics pass from parents to offspring through the genes.

Other Word Forms

• preinheritance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inheritance¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English enheritance, from Anglo-French; equivalent to inherit + -ance

Synonym Study

Inheritance, heritage denote something inherited. Inheritance is the common term for property or any possession that comes to an heir: He received the farm as an inheritance from his parents. Heritage indicates something that is bequeathed to a subsequent generation by an individual or by society: our cultural heritage from Greece and Rome.

Example Sentences

His widow wants to sue me for all of my grandmother’s inheritance.

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In his conclusion, he points out that a million-dollar inheritance doesn’t go as far as it used to, but he suggests it can still do quite a lot.

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In so doing, these nations didn’t merely betray their Western civilizational inheritance.

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In the end, rice casserole is less about nostalgia than about inheritance.

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The party has since expressed an interest in getting the very wealthy to pay more in inheritance tax, whilst attempting to lessen the impact of the levy on those inheriting modest amounts via family homes.

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Related Words

• bequest 
• estate 
• heritage 
• legacy