inheritance
noun/ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/ · /ɪnˈhɛɹɪˌtəns/
Etymology Inherited from Middle English enheritaunce, inheritaunce, borrowed from Anglo-Norman, Old French enheritaunce, from enheriter. By surface analysis, inherit + -ance.
The passing of title to an estate upon death.
That which a person is entitled to inherit, by law or testament, such as the part of an estate (i.e., a portion).
Biology, Human sciences, Linguistics, Natural sciences, Sciences Especially The act or mechanism of inheriting; the state of having inherited.
- The Indo-European languages share various similarities as a result of their inheritance from a common ancestor.
Biology, Natural sciences The biological attributes passed hereditarily from ancestors to their offspring.
Genetic algorithms
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences The mechanism whereby parts of a superclass are available to instances of its subclass.
Object-oriented programming
- Derived terms
- blending inheritance, coinheritance, composition over inheritance, disinheritance, inheritance law, inheritance powder, inheritance tax, misinheritance, noninheritance, particulate inheritance, preheritance, widow inheritance
- Related terms
- inherit, inheritable, inheritor, inheritress, inheritrix
- Hyponyms
- classical inheritance, dual inheritance, dynamic inheritance, multiple inheritance, parasitic inheritance, prototypal inheritance, static inheritance, Swiss inheritance