in·her·i·tance

(ĭn-hĕr′ĭ-təns)

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)

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]

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:

Noun	1.	inheritance - hereditary succession to a title or an office or property heritage 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 heritage 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 hereditary pattern 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" heritage 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

inheritance

noun legacy, estate, heritage, provision, endowment, bequest, birthright, patrimony She feared losing her inheritance to her stepmother.

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:

birthright, heritage, legacy, patrimony.

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

heritage, legacy, tradition.

Translations

مِيرَاثٌميراث، تَرِكَهوِراثَه

dědictvídědičnost

arv

Erbe Erbschaft Vererbung

κληρονομιά

herencia

perintöperimäperiminen

héritage patrimoine

nasljedstvo

arfurerfî; arfur

eredità eredit...

相続

상속

наследство наследование

dediščina

arv

มรดก

mirasmiras almamiras olarak

tài sản thừa kế

遗产继承

inheritance

[ɪnˈherɪtəns]

A. N → herencia f (fig) → patrimonio m
she received a small inheritance from her aunt → su tía le dejó una pequeña herencia

B. CPD inheritance law N → ley f sucesoria
inheritance tax N → impuesto m sobre sucesiones

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

[ɪnˈhɛrɪt^əns] n

(= succession) → héritage m
law of inheritance → droit m de la succession

(= money, property) → héritage m
to come into one's inheritance → entrer en possession de son héritage

(medical) → patrimoine m
genetic inheritance → patrimoine m génétique

(= inherited situation, problem) → héritage m
our cultural inheritance → notre héritage culturelinheritance tax n → droits mpl de succession

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

inheritance

n → Erbe nt (also fig), → Erbschaft f; it passed to him through or by inheritance → er hat es durch eine Erbschaft bekommen; inheritance tax → Erbschaftssteuer f

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

inheritance

[ɪnˈhɛrɪt/əns] n → eredità f inv (fig) → retaggio

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.

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

in·her·i·tance

n. herencia. V.: heredity

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Causes of Variability -- Effects of Habit -- Correlation of Growth -- Inheritance -- Character of Domestic Varieties -- Difficulty of distinguishing between Varieties and Species -- Origin of Domestic Varieties from one or more Species -- Domestic Pigeons, their Differences and Origin -- Principle of Selection anciently followed, its Effects -- Methodical and Unconscious Selection -- Unknown Origin of our Domestic Productions -- Circumstances favourable to Man's power of Selection.

Seedlings from the same fruit, and the young of the same litter, sometimes differ considerably from each other, though both the young and the parents, as Muller has remarked, have apparently been exposed to exactly the same conditions of life; and this shows how unimportant the direct effects of the conditions of life are in comparison with the laws of reproduction, and of growth, and of inheritance; for had the action of the conditions been direct, if any of the young had varied, all would probably have varied in the same manner.

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Vanstone possessed when you knew him" (the lawyer began) "was part, and part only, of the inheritance which fell to him on his father's death.

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I warn all readers of these lines that Miss Fairlie's inheritance is a very serious part of Miss Fairlie's story, and that Mr.

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de Treville, as he has ended by styling himself in Paris, had really commenced life as D'Artagnan now did; that is to say, without a sou in his pocket, but with a fund of audacity, shrewdness, and intelligence which makes the poorest Gascon gentleman often derive more in his hope from the paternal inheritance than the richest Perigordian or Berrichan gentleman derives in reality from his.

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The chief news, about which all Moscow gossips, is the death of old Count Bezukhov, and his inheritance. Fancy!

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From the former of these, he derived an agreeable person, a sound constitution, a solid understanding, and a benevolent heart; by the latter, he was decreed to the inheritance of one of the largest estates in the county.

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Yet such men as he are reared here and there in every generation of our peasant artisans--with an inheritance of affections nurtured by a simple family life of common need and common industry, and an inheritance of faculties trained in skilful courageous labour: they make their way upwards, rarely as geniuses, most commonly as painstaking honest men, with the skill and conscience to do well the tasks that lie before them.

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There was also a dispute at Phocea, concerning a right of inheritance, between Mnasis, the father of Mnasis, and Euthucrates, the father of Onomarchus, which brought on the Phoceans the sacred war.

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All the way to the flat he continued to think, and it was wonderful what possibilities there seemed to be in this little scheme of courting the society of the man who had robbed him of his inheritance. He had worked on Bill's feelings so successfully as to elicit a loan of a million dollars, and was just proceeding to marry him to Elizabeth, when the cab stopped with the sudden sharpness peculiar to New York cabs, and he woke up, to find himself at his destination.

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Could you make her understand what you meant by inheritance and families?

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The chief of these was the question of inheritance: Mrs.

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