heritage

noun

her·​i·​tage ˈher-ə-tij 

ˈhe-rə-

1

: property that descends to an heir

2

a

: 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.

b

: tradition

the party's heritage of secularism

3

: 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

Synonyms

• convention
• custom
• prescription
• rubric
• rule
• tradition

Examples of heritage in a Sentence

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

Listen to this article A top supervisor in the Queens District Attorney’s office has been accused in a new civil rights lawsuit of mocking an investigator with comments about his Latino heritage and his stuttering. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 21 July 2024

As befits its heritage, the Queen Mary 2 embraces tradition. —Fran Golden, Travel + Leisure, 20 July 2024

Hadid, who has Palestinian heritage, has long been an outspoken supporter of Palestine. —Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 19 July 2024

Vance, who stopped by the US Senate for 18 months on his way to the nomination, emphasized his Appalachian heritage and family upbringing in his acceptance speech and played it safe on policy. —Jack Schlossberg, Vogue, 18 July 2024

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).

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

heritage

noun

her·​i·​tage ˈher-ət-ij 

1

: property that is handed down to an heir

2

: something acquired from the past

a rich heritage of folklore