Hereditary - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: Hereditary

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

he·red·i·tar·y

Audio Help [huh-red-i-ter-ee] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	passing, or capable of passing, naturally from parent to offspring through the genes: Blue eyes are hereditary in our family. Compare congenital.

2.	of or pertaining to inheritance or heredity: a hereditary title.

3.	existing by reason of feeling, opinions, or prejudices held by predecessors: a hereditary enemy.

Law.

a.	descending by inheritance.

b.	transmitted or transmissible in the line of descent by force of law.

c.	holding title, rights, etc., by inheritance: a hereditary proprietor.

Mathematics.

a.	(of a collection of sets) signifying that each subset of a set in the collection is itself a set in the collection.

b.	of or pertaining to a mathematical property, as containing a greatest integer, applicable to every subset of a set that has the property.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME < L héréditārius relating to inheritance, equiv. to hérédit(ās) inheritance, heredity + -ārius -ary

]

—Related forms

he·red·i·tar·i·ly

Audio Help [hi-red-i-tair-uh-lee, -red-i-ter-] Pronunciation Key, adverb

he·red·i·tar·i·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1, 2. See innate. 3. ancestral, traditional.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Hereditary

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

he·red·i·tar·y Audio Help (hə-rěd'ĭ-těr'ē) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Law
1. Descending from an ancestor to a legal heir; passing down by inheritance.
2. Having title or possession through inheritance.
3. Appearing in or characteristic of successive generations.
4. Derived from or fostered by one's ancestors: a hereditary prejudice.
Transmitted or capable of being transmitted genetically from parent to offspring: a hereditary disease.
1. Appearing in or characteristic of successive generations.
2. Derived from or fostered by one's ancestors: a hereditary prejudice.
Ancestral; traditional: their hereditary home. See Synonyms at innate.
Of or relating to heredity or inheritance.

[Middle English, from Latin hērēditārius, from hērēditās, inheritance; see heredity.]

he·red'i·tar'i·ly (-târ'ə-lē) adv., he·red'i·tar'i·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

hereditary
adjective
1.	occurring among members of a family usually by heredity; "an inherited disease"; "familial traits"; "genetically transmitted features" [syn: familial]
2.	inherited or inheritable by established rules (usually legal rules) of descent; "ancestral home"; "ancestral lore"; "hereditary monarchy"; "patrimonial estate"; "transmissible tradition" [syn: ancestral]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
heˈreditary adjective

(able to be) passed on in this way
Example: Is musical ability hereditary?

Arabic:	وراثي
Chinese (Simplified):	遗传的
Chinese (Traditional):	遺傳的
Czech:	dědičný
Danish:	nedarvet; arvelig
Dutch:	erfelijk
Estonian:	pärilik
Finnish:	perinnöllinen
French:	héréditaire
German:	erblich
Greek:	κληρονομικός
Hungarian:	örökletes
Icelandic:	arf-, *ættgengur
Indonesian:	turun temurun
Italian:	ereditario

Japanese:	遺伝の
Korean:	유전적인
Latvian:	iedzimts; pārmantots
Lithuanian:	paveldimas
Norwegian:	arvelig
Polish:	dziedziczny
Portuguese (Brazil):	hereditário
Portuguese (Portugal):	hereditário
Romanian:	ereditar
Russian:	наследственный
Slovak:	dedičný
Slovenian:	deden
Spanish:	hereditario
Swedish:	ärftlig
Turkish:	kalıtımsal, kalıtsal, irsî

See also: heredity

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

hereditary Audio Help (hə-rěd'ĭ-těr'ē) Pronunciation Key
Passed or capable of being passed from parent to offspring by means of genes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
hereditary

A descriptive term for conditions capable of being transmitted from parent to offspring through the genes. The term hereditary is applied to diseases such as hemophilia and characteristics such as the tendency toward baldness that pass from parents to children.

[Chapter:] Medicine and Health

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hereditary

Heir\, n. [OE. heir, eir, hair, OF. heir, eir, F. hoir, L. heres; of uncertain origin. Cf. Hereditary, Heritage.]

1. One who inherits, or is entitled to succeed to the possession of, any property after the death of its owner; one on whom the law bestows the title or property of another at the death of the latter.

I am my father's heir and only son. --Shak.

2. One who receives any endowment from an ancestor or relation; as, the heir of one's reputation or virtues.

And I his heir in misery alone. --Pope.

Heir apparent. (Law.) See under Apparent.

Heir at law, one who, after his ancector's death, has a right to inherit all his intestate estate. --Wharton (Law Dict.).

Heir presumptive, one who, if the ancestor should die immediately, would be his heir, but whose right to the inheritance may be defeated by the birth of a nearer relative, or by some other contingency.

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