heritage

noun

her·i·tage ˈher-ə-tij

ˈhe-rə-

: property that descends to an heir

: something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor : legacy, inheritance

proud of her Chinese heritage

a rich heritage of folklore

The battlefields are part of our heritage and should be preserved.

: tradition

the party's heritage of secularism

: something possessed as a result of one's natural situation or birth : birthright

the heritage of natural freedom was long since cast away—

V. L. Parrington

Example Sentences

hospitality is a cherished Southern heritage this farm is my heritage from my father, as it was for him from his father

Recent Examples on the Web In homage to the city's rich musical heritage, Kruezkirche church puts on nightly performances all through the advent season. —

Melanie Hamilton, CNN, 9 Dec. 2022 Homies articulate, in visual form, a heritage that goes deeper than that. —

Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2022 Indigenous rock carvings are among the inspirations for Jesse Raine Littlebird, an Albuquerque artist of Laguna and Kewa Pueblos heritage. —

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022 Handcrafted in Italy, Chelsea Paris is created out of inspiration from the designer’s Nigerian heritage. —

ELLE, 30 Nov. 2022 Mijares was born in Miami, but his family’s Spanish-Cuban heritage is evident throughout his paintings and sculptures. —

Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 29 Nov. 2022 The dinners will be prepared by chef Cole Ersel of Milkweed Collective catering, reflecting Ersel's German heritage, and by chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite of EsterEv and Dandan. —

Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 28 Nov. 2022 The Ferragamos have been in the hotel business, quietly, for decades, operating venues in and around their native Florence and in Rome that make only the most subtle reference to the family’s fashion heritage. —

Jay Cheshes, WSJ, 22 Nov. 2022 The announcement of the name of Huntsville’s MLS NEXT Pro soccer team resembled a rocket launch fitting of the city’s NASA heritage. —

al, 15 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heritage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English heritage, eritage, borrowed from Anglo-French, from heriter "to inherit, make an heir" (going back to Late Latin hērēditāre "to leave as an inheritance, inherit, make an heir," from Latin hērēd-, hērēs heir entry 1 + -itāre, verb suffix) + -age -age

Note: The Latin verb suffix -itāre normally has repetitive or frequentative value (cf. hesitate, meditate, palpitate), not factitive or causative value, so in this instance it may be of distinct origin. A possible model is the adjective hērēditārius (see hereditary), in the formation of which a stem hērēdit- appears to have been extracted from the noun hērēditāt-, hērēditās "succession to an heir, inheritance," by construing the suffix as -āt-, -ās (or, alternatively, *hērēditātārius was shortened by haplology to hērēditārius).