Heritable
/ˈhɛrɪtəbəl/noun
Able to be inherited or passed down from ancestors.
Did you know?Heritable comes from the same ancient root behind *heir* and *heritage*, a lineage word tied to inheritance long before it became modern legal language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰey-
“to be in motion, to set in motion; later extended in some branches to notions of following or succession”
Latin
Latin
hērēs
“heir, inheritor”
Late Latin
Latin
hērēditārius
“pertaining to an heir or inheritance”
Old French
Old French
heritable
“capable of being inherited”
Middle English
English
heritable
“capable of being inherited or transmitted by inheritance”
Modern English
English
heritable
“able to be inherited or passed down”
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