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inherit

[in-her-it]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir: to inherit the family business.
  2. to receive as if by succession from predecessors: the problems the new government inherited from its predecessors.
  3. to receive (a genetic character) by the transmission of hereditary factors.
  4. to succeed (a person) as heir.
  5. to receive as one's portion; come into possession of: to inherit his brother's old clothes.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it.
  2. to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (followed by from).
  3. to have succession as heir.
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Origin of inherit

1275–1325; Middle English en(h)erit(i)en < Middle French enheriter < Late Latin inhērēditāre to make heir. See in-3, hereditary
Related formshalf-in·her·it·ed, adjectivenon·in·her·it·ed, adjectivepre·in·her·it, verb (used with object)qua·si-in·her·it·ed, adjectivere·in·her·it, verbun·in·her·it·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inherit

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The false cannot inherit the true nor the unclean the lovely.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • No one remained to inherit their good name and little fortune.

    The Roof of France

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

  • They do not buy it; they do not conquer it, but they inherit it.

    Pax Vobiscum

    Henry Drummond

  • Your father is not an old man; he may marry again, and have a son to inherit his wealth.

    Henry Dunbar

    M. E. Braddon

  • You will inherit a very good practice and a comfortable fortune.

    Henry Dunbar

    M. E. Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for inherit

inherit

verb -its, -iting or -ited
  1. to receive (property, a right, title, etc) by succession or under a will
  2. (intr) to succeed as heir
  3. (tr) to possess (a characteristic) through genetic transmission
  4. (tr) to receive (a position, attitude, property, etc) from a predecessor
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Derived Formsinherited, adjectiveinheritor, nouninheritress or inheritrix, fem n

Word Origin

C14: from Old French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre to appoint an heir, from Latin hērēs heir
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

Word Origin and History for inherit

v.

c.1300, "to make (someone) an heir," from Old French enheriter "make heir, appoint as heir," from Late Latin inhereditare "to appoint as heir," from Latin in- "in" (see in- (2)) + hereditare "to inherit," from heres (genitive heredis) "heir" (see heredity). Sense of "receive inheritance" arose mid-14c.; original sense is retained in disinherit. Related: Inherited; inheriting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
inherit in Medicine

inherit

(ĭn-hĕr′ĭt)
v.
  1. To receive a trait from one's parents by genetic transmission.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.