inheritance

in·her·i·tance

 (ĭn-hĕr′ĭ-təns)

n.

1.

a. The action of inheriting something: the inheritance of property from a relative.

b. Something inherited or to be inherited: Her inheritance included a large estate.

2. Something regarded as a heritage: the cultural inheritance of Rome. See Synonyms at heritage.

3. Biology

a. The process of genetic transmission of characteristics from parent or ancestor to offspring.

b. A characteristic so inherited.

c. The sum of genetically transmitted characteristics.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

inheritance

(ɪnˈhɛrɪtəns)

n

1. (Law) law

a. hereditary succession to an estate, title, etc

b. the right of an heir to succeed to property on the death of an ancestor

c. something that may legally be transmitted to an heir

2. the act of inheriting

3. something inherited; heritage

4. (Genetics) the derivation of characteristics of one generation from an earlier one by heredity

5. (Law) obsolete hereditary rights

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•her•it•ance

(ɪnˈhɛr ɪ təns)

n.

1. something that is or may be inherited; property passing at the owner's death to the heir or those entitled to succeed; legacy.

2. the genetic characters transmitted from parent to offspring.

3. something, as a quality or characteristic, received from progenitors or predecessors.

4. the act or fact of inheriting.

5. birthright; heritage.

[1375–1425; Middle English enheritance < Anglo-French]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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inheritance

In this diagram, pink pea flowers are produced by dominant genes (D) and white pea flowers are produced by recessive genes (r). When flowers having two dominant genes are mated with flowers having two recessive genes (top row), the first generation of plants (middle row) all have one dominant and one recessive gene (Dr). Since dominant genes suppress recessive ones, all the flowers in the first generation will be pink. In the second generation (bottom row), one of the four plants will have two recessive genes. Therefore, three of the flowers in the second generation will be pink and one will be white.

in·her·i·tance

(ĭn-hĕr′ĭ-təns)

The process by which traits or characteristics pass from parents to offspring through the genes.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun1.inheritance - hereditary succession to a title or an office or propertyinheritance - hereditary succession to a title or an office or property

acquisition - the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something; "the acquisition of wealth"; "the acquisition of one company by another"

2.inheritance - that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner

law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"

transferred possession, transferred property - a possession whose ownership changes or lapses

primogeniture - right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son

borough English - a former English custom by which the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers

accretion - (law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance)

bequest, legacy - (law) a gift of personal property by will

birthright, patrimony - an inheritance coming by right of birth (especially by primogeniture)

devise - (law) a gift of real property by will

heirloom - something that has been in a family for generations

heirloom - (law) any property that is considered by law or custom as inseparable from an inheritance is inherited with that inheritance

3.inheritance - (genetics) attributes acquired via biological heredity from the parents

genetic endowment, heredity - the total of inherited attributes

ancestry, filiation, lineage, derivation - inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline

gene linkage, linkage - (genetics) traits that tend to be inherited together as a consequence of an association between their genes; all of the genes of a given chromosome are linked (where one goes they all go)

X-linked dominant inheritance - hereditary pattern in which a dominant gene on the X chromosome causes a characteristic to be manifested in the offspring

X-linked recessive inheritance - hereditary pattern in which a recessive gene on the X chromosome results in the manifestation of characteristics in male offspring and a carrier state in female offspring

genetic science, genetics - the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms

4.inheritance - any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors; "my only inheritance was my mother's blessing"; "the world's heritage of knowledge"

attribute - an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity

birthright - personal characteristics that are inherited at birth

background - a person's social heritage: previous experience or training; "he is a lawyer with a sports background"

birthright - a right or privilege that you are entitled to at birth; "free public education is the birthright of every American child"

upbringing - properties acquired during a person's formative years

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

inheritance

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

inheritance

noun

1. Any special privilege accorded a firstborn:

2. Something immaterial, as a style or philosophy, that is passed from one generation to another:

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

dědictvídědičnost

arv

perintöperimäperiminen

nasljedstvo

arfurerfî; arfur

相続

상속

dediščina

arv

มรดก

mirasmiras almamiras olarak

tài sản thừa kế

inheritance

[ɪnˈherɪtəns]

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

inheritance

[ɪnˈhɛrɪtəns] n

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

inheritance

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

inherit

(inˈherit) verb

1. to receive (property etc belonging to someone who has died). He inherited the house from his father; She inherited four thousand dollars from her father.

2. to have (qualities) the same as one's parents etc. She inherits her quick temper from her mother.

inˈheritance noun

1. money etc inherited. He spent most of his inheritance on drink.

2. the act of inheriting. The property came to him by inheritance.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

inheritance

مِيرَاثٌ dědictví arv Erbschaft κληρονομιά herencia perintö héritage nasljedstvo eredità 相続 상속 erfenis arv dziedzictwo herança наследство arv มรดก miras tài sản thừa kế 遗产

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

in·her·i·tance

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012