heir
English
Etymology
From Middle English heir, from Anglo-Norman eir, heir, from Latin hērēs.
Pronunciation
Noun
heir (plural heirs)
- Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- I am my father's heir and only son.
- 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
- And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office.
- A successor in a role, representing continuity with the predecessor.
- (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
- And I his heir in misery alone.
- 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:
- "I wish we were back in Tenth Street. But so many children came […] and the Tenth Street house wasn't half big enough; and a dreadful speculative builder built this house and persuaded Austin to buy it. Oh, dear, and here we are among the rich and great; and the steel kings and copper kings and oil kings and their heirs and dauphins. […]"
- 2013 May 11, “What a waste”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 12:
- India is run by gerontocrats and epigones: grey hairs and groomed heirs.
- (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
Synonyms
- (one who inherits property): beneficiary (law), inheritor
- (one who inherits title): inheritor
- (successor in a role): See also Thesaurus:successor
Related terms
- heir apparent
- heir-at-law
- heiress
- heir general
- heirloom
- heir of the body
- heir of the line
- heir portioner
- heir presumptive
- hereditary
- heritage
- inherit
- inheritance
- inheritor
Translations
one who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another
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one who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office
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successor in a role
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Verb
heir (third-person singular simple present heirs, present participle heiring, simple past and past participle heired)
- (transitive, intransitive) To inherit.
- Quoted in 1950, Our Garst family in America (page 27)
- […] Leonard Houtz & John Myer to be executors to this my last will & testament & lastly my children shall heir equally, one as much as the other.
- Quoted in 1950, Our Garst family in America (page 27)
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Middle English
References
- “hir(e), pron (2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 June 2018.
References
- “her(e (pron.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 June 2018.
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