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Definition of primogeniture - 6 dictionary results

pri⋅mo⋅gen⋅i⋅ture

  [prahy-muh-jen-i-cher, -choor]
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–noun
1. the state or fact of being the firstborn of children of the same parents.
2. Law. the system of inheritance or succession by the firstborn, specifically the eldest son.

Origin:
1585–95; < ML prīmōgenitūra a first birth, equiv. to L prīmō at first + genitūra, equiv. to genit(us) (ptp. of gignere to beget; see kin ) + -ūra -ure

Related forms:
pri⋅mo⋅gen⋅i⋅tar⋅y, pri⋅mo⋅gen⋅i⋅tal, adjective
pri⋅mo⋅gen⋅i⋅ture⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pri·mo·gen·i·ture   (prī'mō-jěn'ĭ-chŏŏr')   
n.  
  1. The state of being the first born or eldest child of the same parents.
  2. Law The right of the eldest child, especially the eldest son, to inherit the entire estate of one or both parents.

[Late Latin prīmōgenitūra : Latin prīmō, at first (from prīmus, first; see per1 in Indo-European roots) + Latin genitūra, birth (from genitus, past participle of gignere, to beget; see genə- in Indo-European roots).]
pri'mo·gen'i·tar'y (-jěn'ĭ-těr'ē), pri'mo·gen'i·tal (-təl) adj.
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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Primogeniture

Pri`mo*gen"i*ture\ (?; 135), n. [LL., fr. L. primus first + genitura a begetting, birth, generation, fr. genere, gignere, to beget: cf. F. primog['e]niture, L. primogenitus firstborn. See Prime, a., and Genus, Kin.]

1. The state of being the firstborn of the same parents; seniority by birth among children of the same family.

2. (Eng. Law) The exclusive right of inheritance which belongs to the eldest son. Thus in England the right of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and in the royal family the eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the throne by primogeniture. In exceptional cases, among the female children, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the eldest daughter only and her issue. --Blackstone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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primogeniture [(preye-moh-jen-uh-choor, preye-moh-jen-uh-chuhr)]

A system of inheritance in which land passes exclusively to the eldest son. Until the Industrial Revolution, this system severely restricted the freedom of younger sons, who were often forced into the military or the clergy to earn a living.

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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primogeniture 
1602, "right of succession of the first-born," from M.L. primogenitura, from L.L. primogenitus "first-born," from L. primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + genitus, pp. of gignere "to beget" (see genus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pri·mo·gen·i·ture
Pronunciation: "prI-mO-'je-n&-"chur
Function: noun
1 : the state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents
2 : exclusive right of inheritance; specifically : a right to take all the real property of an estate belonging under English law to the eldest son or eldest male in the next degree of consanguinity if there is no son of an ancestor to the exclusion of all female and younger male descendants
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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