hereditary

hereditary
hereditarily /hi red'i tair"euh lee, -red"i ter'-/, adv.hereditariness, n.
/heuh red"i ter'ee/, adj.
1. passing, or capable of passing, naturally from parent to offspring through the genes: Blue eyes are hereditary in our family. Cf. congenital.
2. of or pertaining to inheritance or heredity: a hereditary title.
3. existing by reason of feeling, opinions, or prejudices held by predecessors: a hereditary enemy.
4. Law.
a. descending by inheritance.
b. transmitted or transmissible in the line of descent by force of law.
c. holding title, rights, etc., by inheritance: a hereditary proprietor.
5. Math.
a. (of a collection of sets) signifying that each subset of a set in the collection is itself a set in the collection.
b. of or pertaining to a mathematical property, as containing a greatest integer, applicable to every subset of a set that has the property.
[1375-1425; late ME < L hereditarius relating to inheritance, equiv. to heredit(as) inheritance, HEREDITY + -arius -ARY]
Syn. 1, 2. See innate. 3. ancestral, traditional.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • hereditary — he·red·i·tary /hə re də ˌter ē/ adj [Latin hereditarius, from hereditas inheritance, from hered heres heir] 1: received or passing by inheritance or required to pass by inheritance hereditary shares 2: having ownership or possession through… …   Law dictionary

  • Hereditary — He*red i*ta*ry, a. [L. hereditarius, fr. hereditas heirship, inheritance, fr. heres heir: cf. F. h[ e]r[ e]ditaire. See {Heir}.] 1. Descended, or capable of descending, from an ancestor to an heir at law; received or passing by inheritance, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hereditary — [hə red′i ter΄ē] adj. [L hereditarius < hereditas: see HEREDITY] 1. a) of, or passed down by, inheritance from an ancestor to a legal heir; ancestral b) having title, right, etc. by inheritance 2. of, or passed down by, heredity; designating… …   English World dictionary

  • hereditary — (adj.) early 15c., hereditarie, from L. hereditarius, from hereditas (see HEREDITY (Cf. heredity)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • hereditary — congenital, inborn, inherited, *innate, inbred Analogous words: transmitted, conveyed (see CARRY): inherent, con stitutional, intrinsic, ingrained …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • hereditary — [adj] inherited; transmitted at birth ancestral, bequeathed, family, genealogical, genetic, handed down, heritable, inborn, inbred, inheritable, inherited, lineal, maternal, paternal, patrimonial, traditional, transmissible, transmitted, willed;… …   New thesaurus

  • hereditary — ► ADJECTIVE 1) conferred by, based on, or relating to inheritance. 2) (of a characteristic or disease) able to be passed on genetically from parents to their offspring. DERIVATIVES hereditarily adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • hereditary — [[t]hɪre̱dɪtri[/t]] 1) ADJ A hereditary characteristic or illness is passed on to a child from its parents before it is born. Cystic fibrosis is the commonest fatal hereditary disease... In men, hair loss is hereditary. 2) ADJ A title or position …   English dictionary

  • hereditary — 1. adjective a) which is passed on as inheritance, by last will or intestate Duke is a hereditary title which was created in Norman times. b) (of a title, honor or right) legally granted to somebodys descendant after that persons death.… …   Wiktionary

  • hereditary — /həˈrɛdətri / (say huh reduhtree) adjective 1. passing, or capable of passing, naturally from parents to offspring: hereditary traits. 2. relating to inheritance or heredity: hereditary descent. 3. being such through feelings, etc., derived from… …  

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