heir
[ air ]
/ ɛər /
noun
a person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death.
Law.
- (in common law) a person who inherits all the property of a deceased person, as by descent, relationship, will, or legal process.
- Civil Law.a person who legally succeeds to the place of a deceased person and assumes the rights and obligations of the deceased, as the liabilities for debts or the possessory rights to property.
a person who inherits or is entitled to inherit the rank, title, position, etc., of another.
a person or group considered as inheriting the tradition, talent, etc., of a predecessor.
verb (used with object)
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. to inherit; succeed to.
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Nearby words
- heinous,
- heinously,
- heinrich,
- heinz,
- heinz-ehrlich body,
- heir apparent,
- heir at law,
- heir presumptive,
- heir-at-law,
- heirdom
Origin of heir
1225–75; Middle English eir, heir < Old French < Latin hērēd- (stem of hērēs); akin to Greek chêros bereaved
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for heir
heir
/ (ɛə) /
noun
civil law the person legally succeeding to all property of a deceased person, irrespective of whether such person died testate or intestate, and upon whom devolves as well as the rights the duties and liabilities attached to the estate
any person or thing that carries on some tradition, circumstance, etc, from a forerunner
an archaic word for offspring
Word Origin for heir
C13: from Old French, from Latin hērēs; related to Greek khēros bereaved
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
heir
c.1300, from Anglo-French heir, Old French oir "heir, successor," from Latin heredem (nominative heres) "heir, heiress" (see heredity). Heir apparent (late 14c.) has the French order of noun-adjective, though it was not originally so written in English. It is the heir of one still alive whose right is clear. After death the heir apparent becomes the heir-at-law.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper