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héritier

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Etymology and origin of the French word héritier

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1135 Couronnement de Louis More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin hereditarius via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin hērēditās
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin hērēs
Latin hērēditās
English heredity
Latin hērēditārius
French héritier
English hereditary
Spanish hereditario
From the same root
Latin cohērēs ← hērēs
Latin hērēditō ← hērēditās

Pronunciation

Forms

héritier m (plural héritiers, feminine héritière)[1] Old French eritier, iretier and iritier; the etymological ⟨h⟩ was restored in Middle French (heretier, 1324).[2][3] Feminine héritière.[4][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French eritier, inherited from Latin hērēditārius (“hereditary, received by inheritance”).[2][3][5][6] The Latin adjective was used as a noun in medieval Latin, where it means “heir” in 1012–1018; it is derived from hērēditās (“inheritance”).[2][3] The TLFi sees the Old French form as a remaking of an older *heretier after Old French erité (“inheritance”), and Bloch and Wartburg give it the same changes as hériter.[2][6] héréditaire is a learned doublet.[1]

Cognate with Old Occitan heretier, Spanish heredero and Portuguese herdeiro.[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as eritier in the Couronnement de Louis (about 1135), for a person called to succeed to another's property.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Old French it competed with hoir “heir” (1080), from Latin hērēs; supported by hériter and héritage, héritier drove hoir out, and hoir now survives only as an archaism or historical term, except in Switzerland.[3][6]

About 1360 (Froissart) it took the wider sense of anyone who receives property by inheritance;[3][8][6] héritier présomptif is recorded in 1406 and the legal compound cohéritier in 1411.[3][8][6] In the 17th century it came to mean a child (Scarron, 1648), now only jokingly, and someone who carries on a tradition (La Fontaine, 1668).[3][8] From the late 17th century the feminine héritière is used of an only daughter due to inherit a large fortune.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1135 – Eritier appears in the Couronnement de Louis.[2][3]
  • c. 1196 – Jean Bodel writes heritier.[9][8]
  • 1324 – The Middle French form heretier restores the ⟨h⟩.[3]
  • c. 1360 – Froissart uses it of anyone who inherits property.[3][8]
  • 1406 – Héritier présomptif is recorded.[8]
  • 1411 – Cohéritier is recorded.[3][6]
  • 1648 – Scarron uses it for a child.[3][8]
  • 1668 – La Fontaine uses it of one who carries on a tradition.[3][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (law) An heir: a relative called by law to receive the estate of a dead person: héritier présomptif.[2][4]
  2. A person who receives property by inheritance: l'héritier d'un domaine.[4][2]
  3. Héritière: a daughter due to inherit a large fortune, an heiress.[4][3]
  4. (figurative) One who carries on a tradition or a body of thought, a successor.[4][8]
  5. (dated or humorous) A child: ils attendent un héritier.[4][8]

Word family

  • cohéritier

Usage notes

Littré gives a separate héritier for a pointed piece, which Richelet considered a corruption of arêtier.[7][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 411b
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 225a

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Héritier.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/h%C3%A9ritier. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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