hereditary

Intermediatezipf 3.49

Pronunciation

/hɪˈrɛdɪtəri/(hih-RED-ih-tuh-ree)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

遗传的；世袭的

Definition

Passed down from parent to child through genes or by inheritance of title, position, or property.

Word family

  • heredity/hɪˈrɛdɪti/(n)遗传

Collocations

  • hereditary disease
  • hereditary trait
  • hereditary monarchy
  • hereditary title
  • hereditary factor

Examples

  1. 1.Haemophilia is a hereditary condition in which the blood does not clot properly. (genetic)
  2. 2.The House of Lords originally consisted entirely of hereditary peers who inherited their seats. (passed by birth)

Synonyms

  • genetic/dʒɪˈnɛtɪk/— relating to genes — for biological traits
  • inherited/ɪnˈhɛrɪtɪd/— received from predecessors
  • congenital/kənˈdʒɛnɪtl/— present from birth — medical

Etymology

from Latin "hereditarius" (of inheritance) — "heres" (heir)