heredity (n.)

1530s, "inheritance, succession," from French hérédité, from Old French eredite "inheritance, legacy" (12c.), from Latin hereditatem (nominative hereditas) "heirship, inheritance, an inheritance, condition of being an heir," from heres (genitive heredis) "heir, heiress" (from PIE root *ghe- "to be empty, left behind," source also of Greek khēra "widow"). Legal sense of "inheritable quality or character" first recorded 1784; the modern biological sense "transmission of qualities from parents to offspring" seems to be found first in 1863, introduced by Herbert Spencer.

also from 1530s

Entries linking to heredity

heir (n.)

"one who inherits, or has right of inheritance in, the property of another," c. 1300, from Anglo-French heir, Old French oir "heir, successor; heritage, inheritance," from Latin heredem (nominative heres) "heir, heiress" (see heredity). Heir apparent (late 14c.) has the French order of noun-adjective, though it was not originally so written in English. It is the heir of one still alive whose right is clear. After death the heir apparent becomes the heir-at-law. Related: Heir-apparency.

hereditable (adj.)

mid-15c.; see heredity + -able. Perhaps from obsolete French héréditable or Medieval Latin hereditabilis. Related: Hereditably; hereditability (1829).

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Trends of heredity

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inherit

c. 1300, "to make (someone) an heir" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French enheriter "make heir, attribute the right of inheretance to, appoint as heir," from Late Latin inhereditare "to appoint as heir," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + Latin hereditare "to inherit," f

atavism

1833, in biology, "reversion by influence of heredity to ancestral characteristics, resemblance of a given organism to some...

sibling

Paul, "Human Heredity," 1930] In Old English, sibb and its compounds covered senses of "brotherly love, familial affection...

nature

From late 14c. as "creation, the universe;" also "heredity, birth, hereditary circumstance; essential qualities, inherent...

property

c. 1300, properte, "nature, quality, distinctive character always present in an individual or class," later "possession, land or goods owned, things subject to ownership" (early 14c., but this sense is rare before 17c.), from an Anglo-French modification of Old French proprete, "

stoic

late 14c., "philosopher of the school founded by Zeno" (c. 334-c. 262 B.C.E.), from Latin stoicus, from Greek stoikos "pertaining to a member of or the teachings of the school founded by Zeno, characterized by austere ethical doctrines," literally "pertaining to a portico," from

myth

1830, from French mythe (1818) and directly from Modern Latin mythus, from Greek mythos "speech, thought, word, discourse, conversation; story, saga, tale, myth, anything delivered by word of mouth," a word of unknown origin. Beekes finds it "quite possibly Pre-Greek." Myths are

cohort

early 15c., "company of soldiers, band of warriors," from French cohorte (14c.) and directly from Latin cohortem (nominative cohors) "enclosure," with meaning extended to "infantry company" in the Roman army through the notion of "enclosed group, retinue;" from assimilated form o

trousers

"garment for men, covering the lower body and each leg separately," 1610s, earlier trouzes (1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Gaelic or Middle Irish triubhas "close-fitting shorts," of uncertain origin. Early recorded use of

diligence

mid-14c., "constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken," from Old French diligence "attention, care; haste, speed" and directly from Latin diligentia "attentiveness, carefulness," from diligentem (nominative diligens) "attentive, assiduous, careful," present-part

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updated on December 09, 2020

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Dictionary entries near heredity

hereby

hereditable

hereditament

hereditary

hereditism

heredity

Herefordshire

herein

hereof

hereon

heresiarch