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hereditary

hereditary

10 5.4
A right or title a family gives to their children by law
  • adjective
  • /həˈrɛdɪˌtɛri/
  • Formal
translation icon : hereditario
  • She is the next hereditary heir to the throne.
  • hereditary monarchy
  • hereditary chiefs
  • hereditary aristocracy

But Alexander was a hereditary monarch, right?

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Examples

  • Although rights to use cleared lands were hereditary, the forest at large was considered a common resource.

    Academic text (1999)
  • But Alexander was a hereditary monarch, right?

  • It's hereditary. meaning it's passed from parent to child.

  • Well right now America and Europe no longer have a hereditary landlord class.

  • Property ownership in the form of a hereditary landlord class.

  • - Henry VII had a very difficult hereditary claim to the throne, of which he was well aware.

  • Europeans have also had a long tradition of regarding noble and base qualities as hereditary.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Today, Holland is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary structure.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The society aroused bitter opposition because of its proposal that membership be hereditary.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Many diseases, such as diabetes, can be hereditary, passing down from parents to children.

Synonyms

ancestral
vshereditary
43 5.5

Related to family members from earlier generations

focuses on legal or formal inheritance rather than general origin from past generations
patrimonial
vshereditary
  • Specialized
9.5

Property or rights passed down within a family for generations

includes biological traits, not only legal family transfers
inherited
vshereditary
  • Specialized
3.4

Passed from parents to children through genes

also applies to legal rights and titles, not only genetic traits
transmitted
vshereditary
5.3

Passed from parents to children through genes

also covers rights and titles passed by law, not only biological transmission
handed-down
vshereditary
4.2

Older family members give things like clothes or recipes to younger ones

relates to legal or established transfer rather than casual family passing

Antonyms

acquired
  • Specialized
4.1

Not present at birth but learned or developed later

Compounds

hereditary disease
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A disease passed from parents to children through genes

hereditary condition
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A health problem parents can pass to their children through genes

A brain condition passed from parents that causes balance, walking, speech, and eye problems

An inherited nerve disease that causes gradual weakness and loss of feeling in the hands and lower legs

hereditary pattern
  • Specialized
5.3

The way traits pass from parents to children through genes

8.4

A disease passed down in families that slowly damages the nerves in the spine, causing weak muscles and walking problems

How Legitimate

divine right
3 8.6
theocracy
24 7.7
hereditary
  • Formal
10 5.4
to claim
588 3.4
usurpation
5 9.3

Surface Forms

hereditary positive

Morphology

hereditary = heredity (transparent) = heredity + ary

Formed from the noun 'heredity' plus the adjectival suffix '-ary', meaning 'pertaining to inheritance or transmission', which is directly derivable.

Etymology

Hereditary comes from the Latin root heres, which means 'heir' or 'one who receives'. This is the same root as the English word heir, so a hereditary right or title is something passed down within a family from one generation to the next.