Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

heredity

Syllabification: (he·red·i·ty)
Pronunciation: /həˈreditē/
Translate heredity | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of heredity

noun

  • 1the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another:few scientists dispute that heredity can create a susceptibility to alcoholism
  • a person’s ancestry:he wears a Cossack tunic to emphasize his Russian heredity
  • 2inheritance of title, office, or right:membership is largely based on heredity

Origin:

late 18th century: from French hérédité, from Latin hereditas 'heirship', from heres, hered- 'heir'

heredity in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of heredity in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

offing

/ ˈɒfɪŋ /
noun
the more distant part of the sea in view …