inherit definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅her⋅it

[in-her-it]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir: to inherit the family business.

2.	to receive as if by succession from predecessors: the problems the new government inherited from its predecessors.

3.	to receive (a genetic character) by the transmission of hereditary factors.

4.	to succeed (a person) as heir.

5.	to receive as one's portion; come into possession of: to inherit his brother's old clothes.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it.

7.	to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (fol. by from).

8.	to have succession as heir.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME en(h)erit(i)en < MF enheriter < LL inhērēditāre to make heir. See in- ³ , hereditary

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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in·her·it (ĭn-hěr'ĭt)

v. in·her·it·ed, in·her·it·ing, in·her·its

v. tr.

1. To receive (property or a title, for example) from an ancestor by legal succession or will.
2. To receive by bequest or as a legacy.
To receive or take over from a predecessor: The new administration inherited the economic problems of the last four years.
Biology To receive (a characteristic) from one's parents by genetic transmission.
To gain (something) as one's right or portion.

v. intr.
To hold or take possession of an inheritance.

[Middle English enheriten, from Old French enheriter, to make heir to, from Late Latin inhērēditāre, to inherit : Latin in-, in; see in-² + Late Latin hērēditāre, to inherit (from Latin hērēs, hērēd-, heir; see ghē- in Indo-European roots).]
in·her'i·tor n.

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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Inherit

In*her"it\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inherited; p. pr. & vb. n. Inheriting.] [OE. enheriten to inherit, to give a heritage to, OF. enheriter to appoint as an heir, L. inhereditare; pref. in- in + hereditare to inherit, fr. heres heir. See Heir.]

1. (Law) To take by descent from an ancestor; to take by inheritance; to take as heir on the death of an ancestor or other person to whose estate one succeeds; to receive as a right or title descendible by law from an ancestor at his decease; as, the heir inherits the land or real estate of his father; the eldest son of a nobleman inherits his father's title; the eldest son of a king inherits the crown.

2. To receive or take by birth; to have by nature; to derive or acquire from ancestors, as mental or physical qualities; as, he inherits a strong constitution, a tendency to disease, etc.

Prince Harry is valiant; for the cold blood he did naturally inherit of his father he hath . . . manured . . . with good store of fertile sherris. --Shak.

3. To come into possession of; to possess; to own; to enjoy as a possession.

But the meek shall inherit the earth. --Ps. xxxvii. 11.

To bury so much gold under a tree, And never after to inherit it. --Shak.

4. To put in possession of. [R.] --Shak.

Inherit

In*her"it\, v. i. To take or hold a possession, property, estate, or rights by inheritance.

Thou shalt not inherit our father's house. --Judg. xi. 2.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : inherit

Spanish: heredar,

German: erben,

Japanese: 相続する

More Translations »

inherit

1304, "to make (someone) an heir," from O.Fr. enheriter "make heir, appoint as heir," from L.L. inhereditare "to appoint as heir," from L. in- "in" + hereditare "to inherit," from heres (gen. heredis) "heir." Sense of "receive inheritance" arose c.1340; original sense is retained in disinherit. First record of inheritance "that which is inherited" is from 1473.

Main Entry: in·her·it
Pronunciation: in-'her-it
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle French enheriter to make one an heir, from Late Latin inhereditare, from Latin in- in + hereditas inheritance
transitive verb 1 : to receive (property) from an estate by operation of the laws of intestacy; broadly : to receive (property) either by will or through intestate succession
2 : SUCCEED intransitive verb : to take or hold a possession or rights by inheritance —in·her·i·tor /in-'her-i-t&r/ noun

Main Entry: in·her·it
Pronunciation: in-'her-&t
Function: transitive verb
: to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission

inherit in·her·it (ĭn-hěr'ĭt)
v. in·her·it·ed, in·her·it·ing, in·her·its
To receive a trait from one's parents by genetic transmission.

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