heritage

/ˈhɛrədɪdʒ/

/ˈhɛrɪtɪdʒ/

Other forms: heritages

Heritage can refer to practices or characteristics that are passed down through the years, from one generation to the next. Researching your family tree would help you gain a sense of your personal heritage.

Heritage is often used to discuss a cultural aspect or tradition that has been passed down through generations. For example, one might speak of an area’s "rich musical heritage.” Heritage can also refer to a person's ethnic or cultural background. In a legal sense, heritage is property that you inherit, like a silver teapot your great aunt Sally left to you.

Definitions of heritage

1. noun

   that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner
   synonyms: inheritance

   types:

   primogeniture

   right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son

   borough English

   a former English custom by which the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers

   accretion

   (law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance)

   bequest, legacy

   (law) a gift of personal property by will

   birthright, patrimony

   an inheritance coming by right of birth (especially by primogeniture)

   devise

   (law) a gift of real property by will

   heirloom

   something that has been in a family for generations

   type of:

   transferred possession, transferred property

   a possession whose ownership changes or lapses
2. noun

   any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors
   “the world's heritage of knowledge”

   synonyms: inheritance

   types:

   birthright

   personal characteristics that are inherited at birth

   background

   a person's social heritage, previous experience, or training

   birthright

   a right or privilege that you are entitled to at birth

   upbringing

   properties acquired during a person's formative years

   breeding, education, training

   the result of good upbringing (especially knowledge of correct social behavior)

   nurture, raising, rearing

   the properties acquired as a consequence of the way you were treated as a child

   type of:

   attribute

   an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
3. noun

   practices that are handed down from the past by tradition
   “a heritage of freedom”

   synonyms: legacy

   type of:

   practice

   knowledge of how something is usually done
4. noun

   hereditary succession to a title or an office or property
   synonyms: inheritance

   type of:

   acquisition

   the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something