Hereditary Definition

hə-rĕdĭ-tĕrē
adjective
Of or relating to heredity or inheritance.
American Heritage
Of, or passed down by, heredity; designating or of a characteristic transmitted genetically from generation to generation.
Webster's New World
Of, or passed down by, inheritance from an ancestor to a legal heir; ancestral.
Webster's New World
Being such because of attitudes, beliefs, etc. passed down through generations.
Hereditary allies.
Webster's New World
Being such or possessed by reason of birth.
A hereditary aristocracy.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
noun

A hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Hereditary

Noun

Singular:
hereditary
Plural:
hereditaries

Origin of Hereditary

  • Middle English from Latin hērēditārius from hērēditās inheritance heredity

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Latin hereditarius, from hereditas 'inheritance', from heres 'heir'

    From Wiktionary

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