Definitions for inheritance
ɪnˈhɛr ɪ tənsin·her·i·tance

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. inheritance, heritage(noun)

   hereditary succession to a title or an office or property

2. inheritance, heritage(noun)

   that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner

3. inheritance, hereditary pattern(noun)

   (genetics) attributes acquired via biological heredity from the parents

4. inheritance, heritage(noun)

   any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors

   "my only inheritance was my mother's blessing"; "the world's heritage of knowledge"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. inheritance(Noun)

   The passing of title to an estate upon death.

2. inheritance(Noun)

   That which a person is entitled to inherit, by law or testament.

3. inheritance(Noun)

   (biology) The hereditary passing of biological attributes from ancestors to their offspring.

4. inheritance(Noun)

   In object-oriented programming, the mechanism whereby parts of a superclass are available to instances of its subclass.

Origin: Recorded since 1473, from to inherit, itself from enheriter "make heir, appoint as heir," from inhereditare "to appoint as heir," from in- "in" + hereditare "to inherit," from heres (gen. heredis) "heir".

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Inheritance(noun)

   the act or state of inheriting; as, the inheritance of an estate; the inheritance of mental or physical qualities

2. Inheritance(noun)

   that which is or may be inherited; that which is derived by an heir from an ancestor or other person; a heritage; a possession which passes by descent

3. Inheritance(noun)

   a permanent or valuable possession or blessing, esp. one received by gift or without purchase; a benefaction

4. Inheritance(noun)

   possession; ownership; acquisition

5. Inheritance(noun)

   transmission and reception by animal or plant generation

6. Inheritance(noun)

   a perpetual or continuing right which a man and his heirs have to an estate; an estate which a man has by descent as heir to another, or which he may transmit to another as his heir; an estate derived from an ancestor to an heir in course of law

Origin: [Cf. OF. enheritance.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Inheritance

   Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies. The rules of inheritance differ between societies and have changed over time. The term is also used to refer to the passing of characteristics, for example, genetically or in computing.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'inheritance' in Nouns Frequency: #2592

How to pronounce inheritance?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say inheritance in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of inheritance in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of inheritance in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of inheritance in a Sentence

1. Nampie Motloung:

   It pains me to do so. My cattle are my family's inheritance.

2. O. A. Battista:

   The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.

3. M. Grundler:

   The best inheritance a parent can give to his children is a few minutes of their time each day.

4. Antiquities Minister Adel Shirshab:

   Their battle is a battle for identity, to empty the region, primarily Iraq, of its human inheritance.

5. Karl Kraus:

   Experiences are savings which a miser puts aside. Wisdom is an inheritance which a wastrel cannot exhaust.

Images & Illustrations of inheritance

Popularity rank by frequency of use