Hypertext Webster Gateway: "hereditary"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Hereditary \He*red"i*ta*ry\, a. [L. hereditarius, fr. hereditas
heirship, inheritance, fr. heres heir: cf. F.
h['e]r['e]ditaire. See {Heir}.]
1. Descended, or capable of descending, from an ancestor to
an heir at law; received or passing by inheritance, or
that must pass by inheritance; as, an hereditary estate or
crown.
2. Transmitted, or capable of being transmitted, as a
constitutional quality or condition from a parent to a
child; as, hereditary pride, bravery, disease.
Syn: Ancestral; patrimonial; inheritable.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
hereditary
adj 1: tending to occur among members of a family usually by
heredity; "an inherited disease"; "familial traits";
"genetically transmitted features" [syn: {familial}, {genetic},
{inherited}, {transmitted}, {transmissible}]
2: inherited or inheritable by established rules (usually legal
rules) of descent; "ancestral home"; "ancestral lore";
"hereditary monarchy"; "patrimonial estate";
"transmissible tradition" [syn: {ancestral}, {patrimonial},
{transmissible}]
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