primogeniture
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
1Other 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 | TimeThe modern equivalent of primogeniture in the U.S., as Schine sees it, is divorce.
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, PereNo 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 SloaneHere 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.
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
/ (ˌpraɪməʊˈdʒɛnɪtʃə) /
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
1Derived 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
[ (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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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