Inherit

How to spell inherit

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce inherit

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inherit mean?

1. verbTo receive property, money, a title, or a trait from someone after their death or by descent.

Inherit in a sentence

• She stands to inherit the family farm when her father retires.

• Children often inherit their parents' eye colour and temperament.

Where does inherit come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin verb inhereditare, formed from in- meaning 'in' or 'into' and heres (genitive heredis), the Latin word for an heir, the person who takes possession of property after someone dies. English received it through Old French enheriter during the 1300s, when it first carried the broad sense of making someone an heir or establishing them as a possessor. Over time the meaning narrowed to the modern one: receiving property, titles, or characteristics passed down from a predecessor. The same heres root survives in the closely related words 'heir', 'heritage', and 'hereditary', all of which point back to the idea of someone left in charge of what another leaves behind. A useful spelling note is the single n and the -herit core, since the silent h in its relative 'heir' tempts writers to mishandle the middle of this word.

How the word is built

• in- (in, into)
• herit (from Latin heres, heredis: heir)
• (verb)