inheritance English · revision 39536

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1390, J. Gower, Confessio Amantis|origins=la hērēs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/, /ɪnˈhɛɹɪˌtəns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|enheritaunce]], [[bor|xno|enheritance|t=being admitted as heir; the fact of inheriting]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1341 for property or rights that can be inherited.^(AND) The French noun is formed on [[m|fro|enheriter|t=to make someone an heir]], the verb behind [[inherit]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Klein 1966) with the suffix that became [[-ance]].^(OED 2026) That verb comes from [[la-lat|inhērēditō|t=to appoint as heir]], built on [[m|la|hērēs|t=heir]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Hereditary succession to property or a title: 1390, in John Gower's ''Confessio Amantis''.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates ''enheritaunce'', the fact of receiving something by hereditary succession, to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the act of inheriting the word passed to the thing inherited: an estate passing to an heir, in Warkworth's ''Chronicle'' (1473),^(OED 2026) or early in the 15th century according to Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The Coverdale Bible (1535) used it for a possession given by right or divine grant, a birthright,^(OED 2026) and Johnson (1755) defined it as patrimony, a hereditary possession.^(Johnson 1755) From 1613 it covered qualities and other immaterial things handed down from earlier generations,^(OED 2026) and with Darwin's ''Origin of Species'' (1859) it became the term for the passing of characteristics from parents to offspring.^(OED 2026) The shorter ''heritance'', the act of inheriting, is recorded from the mid 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1341 – Anglo-Norman ''enheritance''.^(AND)

+ * 1390 – hereditary succession to property or a title.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1473 – an inherited estate.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1535 – a birthright, a possession by divine grant.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1613 – a quality inherited from earlier generations.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1859 – the passing of characteristics from parents to offspring.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Money, [[property]] or a title that passes to someone when its owner [[die|alt=dies]]: ''She spent her inheritance on a farm.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The act or right of [[inherit|alt=inheriting]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Something handed down from earlier generations; a [[heritage]].^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # (biology) The passing of characteristics from parents to offspring by [[heredity]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coinheritance]]

+ * [[blending inheritance]]

+ * [[particulate inheritance]]

+ * [[inheritance tax]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[inherit]]

+ * [[inheritable]]

+ * [[inheritor]]

+ * [[inheritrix]]

+ * [[heir]]

+ * [[heritage]]

+ * [[heredity]]

+ * [[hereditary]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dictionary.com distinguishes ''inheritance'', the usual word for property or any possession that comes to an heir, from ''heritage'', which is used more for traditions and qualities handed down to a later generation.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}