primogeniture

[ prahy-muh-jen-i-cher, -choor ]

See synonyms for primogeniture on Thesaurus.com

noun

the state or fact of being the firstborn of children of the same parents.
Law. the system of inheritance or succession by the firstborn, specifically the eldest son.: Compare postremogeniture.

Origin of primogeniture

First recorded in 1500–20; from Medieval Latin prīmōgenitūra “a first birth,” equivalent to Latin prīmō “at first” + genitūra, equivalent to genit(us) (past participle of gignere “to beget”) + -ūra noun suffix; see kin, -ure

Other words from primogeniture

pri·mo·gen·i·tar·y, pri·mo·gen·i·tal, adjective
pri·mo·gen·i·ture·ship, noun

Words Nearby primogeniture

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use primogeniture in a sentence

Apart from a few royal families, primogeniture is no longer the norm in Western countries.
Does Birth Order Really Determine Personality? Here's What the Research Says | Lynn Berger | April 13, 2021 | Time
The modern equivalent of primogeniture in the U.S., as Schine sees it, is divorce.
This Week's Hot Reads | The Daily Beast | February 18, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
That such an idea might come to M. d'Anjou is possible; his ancestors are mine, and it is only a question of primogeniture.
Chicot the Jester | Alexandre Dumas, Pere
No argument can ever restore general confidence in the institution of primogeniture, but it dies hard, even (p. 085) in England.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte | William Milligan Sloane
Here his Lordship sighed, but not too deeply, for he remembered that the law of primogeniture is the sworn enemy to grief.
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) | Charles James Lever

The law of entail is traceable to the same human instincts as the law of primogeniture.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 393, July 1848 | Various
At the same time, I did not believe nature had created men unequal, in the order of primogeniture from male to male.
Afloat And Ashore | James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for primogeniture

primogeniture

/ (ˌpraɪməʊˈdʒɛnɪtʃə) /

noun

the state of being a first-born
law the right of an eldest son to succeed to the estate of his ancestor to the exclusion of all others: Compare ultimogeniture

Origin of primogeniture

C17: from Medieval Latin prīmōgenitūra birth of a first child, from Latin prīmō at first + Late Latin genitūra a birth

Derived forms of primogeniture

primogenitary (ˌpraɪməʊˈdʒɛnɪtərɪ, -trɪ), adjective

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

Cultural definitions for primogeniture

primogeniture

[ (preye-moh-jen-uh-choor, preye-moh-jen-uh-chuhr) ]

A system of inheritance in which land passes exclusively to the eldest son. Until the Industrial Revolution, this system severely restricted the freedom of younger sons, who were often forced into the military or the clergy to earn a living.

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