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Webster's New World College Dictionary » hereditary
hereditary
hereditary definition
he·redi·tary (hə red′i ter′ē)
adjective
- of, or passed down by, inheritance from an ancestor to a legal heir; ancestral
- having title, right, etc. by inheritance
- of, or passed down by, heredity; designating or of a characteristic transmitted genetically from generation to generation
- being such because of attitudes, beliefs, etc. passed down through generations hereditary allies
Etymology: L hereditarius < hereditas: see heredity
Related Forms:
- hereditarily he·red′i·tar′i·ly adverb
- hereditariness he·red′i·tar′i·ness noun
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