hereditary

Inherited from Middle English hereditarie, from Latin hērēditārius, from hērēditās (“inheritance”), from hērēs (“heir”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /həˈɹɛdɪˌtɛɹi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: he‧red‧i‧ta‧ry

hereditary (comparative more hereditary, superlative most hereditary)

1. Passed on as an inheritance, by last will or intestate.
2. Of a title, honor or right: legally granted to somebody's descendant after that person's death.

   Duke is a hereditary title which was created in Norman times.

3. Of a person: holding a legally hereditary title or rank.

   hereditary rulers

4. Of a disease or trait: passed from a parent to offspring in the genes.

   Haemophilia is hereditary in his family.

   • 1985, Urology, volume 2, page 12:

     Xanthuria is an hereditary disorder in which there is an absence of the enzyme xanthine oxidase which interferes with the metabolic breakdown of purines, leading to an increased excretion of xanthine in the urine and to formation of stones.

5. (mathematics) Of a ring: such that all submodules of projective modules over the ring are also projective.

• inhereditary

• nonhereditary

• see heir

hereditary (plural hereditaries)

1. A hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.

• congenital

• erythraeid

hereditary

1. alternative form of hereditarie