héritage

Forms

héritage m (plural héritages)^[1] Old French eritage, iretaige.^[2][3] Palsgrave notes that heritaige was said in the 16th century.^[4]

Etymology

The TLFi and Wiktionary derive it from French héritier + -age;^[2][1] Bloch and Wartburg, Rey, the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert derive it from French hériter.^[5][3][6][7] The verb is from Latin hērēditō, from hērēs (“heir”).^[5] Littré compares Old Occitan heretatge, Old Spanish heredage and Italian ereditaggio.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1135, as eritage, in the Couronnement de Louis, meaning an estate passed down by succession.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

By extension it named a piece of real property, inherited or not (1228), a sense still alive in the classical period, when it could mean any lasting possession of land, much like patrimoine.^[2][3][4] As a religious term it was used from 1189–1193 (Conon de Béthune, iretaige) for the Holy Land, the héritage du Seigneur, and l'héritage céleste was Paradise.^[2][3][8]

The sense “action of inheriting” is found in Oresme about 1361.^[8] By metaphor the word came to mean what is handed down by tradition, as if by succession, as in héritage culturel;^[3][9] the GLLF dates the sense “what one holds from earlier generations” to Michelet (1859).^[8] In computing it is the inheritance of object-oriented programming.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – Eritage appears in the Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• 1189–1193 – Conon de Béthune uses iretaige for the Holy Land.^[2]
• 1228 – It is used for a piece of real property.^[2]
• c. 1361 – Oresme uses it for the action of inheriting.^[8]
• 1859 – Michelet uses it for what one holds from earlier generations.^[8]
• 1866 – Littré records faire un héritage.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. An inheritance, the property left by a dead person and passed on by succession; also the action of inheriting: faire un héritage.^[7][10][9]
2. (figurative) A heritage or legacy, what is handed down from earlier generations or predecessors: héritage culturel.^[7][9][3]
3. A burden left by predecessors: Le nouveau maire a reçu un héritage difficile.^[9]
4. (dated, law) A piece of real estate, land or a house.^[7][4][2]
5. (computing) Inheritance in object-oriented programming;^[1] héritage multiple is multiple inheritance.^[1]

Related words

• hériter
• héritier
• hérédité
• déshériter
• hoir
• Latin hērēs

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)