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heredity

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Hereditary Diseases
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he⋅red⋅i⋅ty

  [huh-red-i-tee]
Use heredity in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties. Biology.
1. the transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring: it is dependent upon the segregation and recombination of genes during meiosis and fertilization and results in the genesis of a new individual similar to others of its kind but exhibiting certain variations resulting from the particular mix of genes and their interactions with the environment.
2. the genetic characters so transmitted.
Compare congenital.

Origin:
1530–40; < MF heredite < L hērēditāt- (s. of hērēditās) inheritance, equiv. to hērēd- (s. of hērēs) heir + -itāt- -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Hereditary Diseases
Test your DNA to determine your risk for inherited diseases
www.AccessDNA.com
he·red·i·ty   (hə-rěd'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. he·red·i·ties

  1. The genetic transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring.

  2. The sum of characteristics and associated potentialities transmitted genetically to an individual organism.


[French hérédité, from Old French heredite, inheritance, from Latin hērēditās, from hērēs, hērēd-, heir; see ghē- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

heredity

The passing of characteristics from parents to children. (See genetics.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

heredity 
1540, from M.Fr. hérédité, from L. hereditatem (nom. hereditas) "condition of being an heir," from heres (gen. heredis) "heir," from PIE base *ghe- "to be empty, left behind" (cf. Gk. khera "widow"). Legal sense of "inheritable quality or character" first recorded 1784; the modern biological sense seems to be found first in 1863, introduced by Herbert Spencer.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: he·red·i·ty
Pronunciation: h&-'red-&t-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 : the sum of the qualities and potentialities genetically derived from one's ancestors
2 : the transmission of traits from ancestor to descendant through the molecular mechanismlying primarily in the DNA or RNA of the genes —compare MEIOSIS
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

heredity he·red·i·ty (hə-rěd'ĭ-tē)
n.

  1. The genetic transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring.

  2. One's genetic constitution.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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