heritage

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈher.ɪ.tɪdʒ/, US /ˈher.ɪ.t̬ɪdʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English eritage, heritage, borrowed from Old French eritage (“inheritance, ancestral estate”) (modern French héritage),^[2][3][4] from heriter (“to inherit”) and the suffix -age,^[2][5] from Late Latin hērēditāre,^[2][4] ultimately from Latin hērēs (“heir”) (genitive hērēdis; see heir).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A spiritual inheritance or bequest: probably before 1200 in Barnhart, in the Ancrene Riwle; that which may be inherited, before 1225 in the OED.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The portion allotted to someone, such as the faithful's share in heaven, is from before 1225,^[6] and the people of Israel as God's own possession from before 1340.^[6] In Scots law, heritage is land and similar property that passes to the heir (1508).^[6] That which comes from one's birth, an inherited lot, is from before 1621, the 1620s in Etymonline.^[6][3] The sense of buildings, landscapes and traditions valued as part of a nation's history, and the attributive use in heritage site and heritage industry, are from about 1970.^[6][7] The verb, to inherit, was used in 1382.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1200 – a spiritual inheritance.^[2]
• a1225 – what is inherited.^[6]
• 1508 – heritable land (Scots law).^[6]
• a1621 – one's inherited lot.^[6]
• 1970 – heritage, as of historic sites.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The traditions, buildings and culture handed down from earlier generations, valued as part of a society's history.
2. Something inherited at birth, such as status or character.
3. Property that is or can be inherited; an inheritance.

Related words

• heir
• inherit
• heritable
• heredity
• hereditary

Usage notes

The AHD compares heritage with inheritance, legacy and tradition, all for something immaterial handed down from one generation to the next.^[8]

References

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