hereditary

English

Etymology

From Latin hereditarius, from hereditas 'inheritance', from heres 'heir'

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/
  • (file)

Adjective

hereditary (comparative more hereditary, superlative most hereditary)

  1. Passed on as an inheritance, by last will or intestate.
  2. Of a title, honor or right: legally granted to somebody's descendant after that person's death.
    Duke is a hereditary title which was created in Norman times.
  3. Of a person: holding a legally hereditary title or rank.
    hereditary rulers
  4. Of a disease or trait: passed from a parent to offspring in the genes
    Haemophilia is hereditary in his family.
  5. (mathematics) Of a ring: such that all submodules of projective modules over the ring are also projective.

Derived terms

Translations

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.

Noun

hereditary (plural hereditaries)

  1. A hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.

See also

Anagrams

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