Inheritance
/ɪnˈhɛrɪtəns/noun
Property, rights, or traits received from someone after their death or passed down from ancestors.
Did you know?Inheritance comes from Latin roots tied to “coming into possession,” and the word’s history reflects how law turned family death into a formal transfer of power and property.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵʰer-
“to hold, enclose, or grasp”
Latin
Latin
hereditas
“an inheritance, estate, or hereditary right”
Old French
Old French
eritage
“inheritance, estate passed down”
Middle English
English
inheritaunce
“the act or right of inheriting; property received from an ancestor”
Modern English
English
inheritance
“property, rights, or traits passed down from an ancestor or predecessor”
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