Etymologically
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heir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɛɚ/; /ˈɛə̯/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English eir, borrowed from Anglo-Norman heir, from hoir,[2][3][4] from Late Latin hērem, for earlier Latin hērēs (“heir, heiress”) (stem hērēd-; see heredity).[5][3][2] The Latin root has been compared with Ancient Greek χῆρος (khêros, “bereaved”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The person entitled by law to inherit another's property: about 1275 in the OED, probably about 1225 in Barnhart, about 1300 in Etymonline.[6][2][3]

Semantic evolution

A person entitled to possess something in the future, or one who takes over a tradition from another, is from before 1300.[6][7] The verb, to inherit, is from about 1330.[6] Heir apparent (late 14th century) keeps the French order of noun and adjective; it is the heir of a living person whose right is clear, who becomes the heir-at-law at that person's death.[3] Heiress is from the 17th century, and heirloom from the 15th.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1275 – heir.[6]
  • before 1300 – a successor to a tradition.[6]
  • c. 1330 – to heir, inherit.[6]
  • late 14th century – heir apparent.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who inherits, or is entitled to inherit, another's estate.
  2. A person who succeeds, or is next in line to succeed, to a hereditary title or office.
  3. A person or thing that carries on a tradition from a predecessor.

Word family

  • heirless
  • heirship
  • coheir
  • heirdom
  • heiress
  • heirloom
  • hereditary
  • heritage
  • heredity
  • inherit

Usage notes

The h is silent, as in hour and honest, and the word sounds the same as air.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins