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   He·red·i·tar·y

   /həˈredəˌterē/

   

   adjective

   • 1. (of a title, office, or right) conferred by or based on inheritance: "members of the ancient Polish aristocracy who had hereditary right to elect the king"
   • ▪ (of a person) holding a position by inheritance: "I am the hereditary chief of the Piscataway people"
   • ▪ (of a characteristic or disease) determined by genetic factors and therefore able to be passed on from parents to their offspring or descendants: "cystic fibrosis is our most common fatal hereditary disease" Similar geneticgeneticalcongenitalinborninherentinheritedinbredinnatein the familyin the bloodin the genes
   • ▪ relating to inheritance: "a form of hereditary succession and dynastic rule became standard practice" Similar inheritedobtained by inheritancebequeathedwilledhanded-downpassed-downpassed-ontransferredtransmittedancestralfamilyfamilialrare:lineal
   • ▪ (of a set) defined such that every element that has a given relation to a member of the set is also a member of the set.

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin hereditarius, from hereditas (see heredity).

   Derivatives

   • 1. hereditarily adverb
   • 2. hereditariness noun

   Scrabble Points: 17

   • H

     4

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • D

     2

   • I

     1

   • T

     1

   • A

     1

   • R

     1

   • Y

     4

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