Link Centre Dictionary

hereditary

he·re·di·tary

UK/həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/ US/həˈɹɛdɪˌtɛɹi/ uncommon

adjective

1.

tending to occur among members of a family usually by heredity

  • “an inherited disease”
  • “familial traits”
  • “genetically transmitted features”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

inherited or inheritable by established rules (usually legal rules) of descent

  • “ancestral home”
  • “ancestral lore”
  • “hereditary monarchy”
  • “patrimonial estate”
  • “transmissible tradition”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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

Phrases

  • Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy
  • hereditary disease
  • hereditary elliptocytosis
  • hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia
  • hereditary mechanics
  • hereditary peer
  • Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.