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Webster 1913 Edition


Inherit

In-her′it

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Inherited
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Inheriting
.]
[OE.
enheriten
to inherit, to give a heritage to, OF.
enheriter
to appoint as an heir, L.
inhereditare
; pref.
in-
in +
hereditare
to inherit, fr.
heres
heir. See
Heir
.]
1.
(Law)
To take by descent from an ancestor; to take by inheritance; to take as heir on the death of an ancestor or other person to whose estate one succeeds; to receive as a right or title descendible by law from an ancestor at his decease;
as, the heir
inherits
the land or real estate of his father; the eldest son of a nobleman
inherits
his father’s title; the eldest son of a king
inherits
the crown.
Prince Harry is valiant; for the cold blood he did naturally
inherit
of his father he hath . . . manured . . . with good store of fertile sherris.
Shakespeare
3.
To come into possession of; to possess; to own; to enjoy as a possession.
But the meek shall
inherit
the earth.
Ps. xxxvii. 11.
To bury so much gold under a tree,
And never after to
inherit
it.
Shakespeare
4.
To put in possession of.
[R.]
Shak.

In-her′it

,
Verb.
I.
To take or hold a possession, property, estate, or rights by inheritance.
Thou shalt not
inherit
our father's house.
Judg. xi. 2.

Webster 1828 Edition


Inherit

INHER'IT

,
Verb.
T.
[L. hoeres, an heir. See Heir.]
1.
To take by descent from an ancestor; to take by succession, as the representative of the former possessor; to receive, as a right or title descendible by law from an ancestor at his decease. The heir inherits the lands or real estate of his father; the eldest son of the nobleman inherits his father's title, and the eldest son of a king inherits the crown.
2.
To receive by nature from a progenitor. The son inherits the virtues of his father; the daughter inherits the temper of her mother, and children often inherit the constitutional infirmities of their parents.
3.
To possess; to enjoy; to take as a possession, by gift or divine appropriation; as, to inherit everlasting life; to inherit the promises.
--That thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. Deut. 16.
The meek shall inherit the earth. Matt.5.

INHER'IT

,
Verb.
I.
To take or have possession or property.
--Thou shall not inherit in our father's house. Judges 11.

Definition 2024


inherit

inherit

English

Verb

inherit (third-person singular simple present inherits, present participle inheriting, simple past and past participle inherited)

  1. (transitive) To take possession of as a right (especially in Biblical translations).
    Your descendants will inherit the earth.
  2. (transitive) To receive (property or a title etc), by legal succession or bequest after the previous owner's death.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess:
      ‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’
    After Grandad died, I inherited the house.
  3. (transitive, biology) To receive a characteristic from one's ancestors by genetic transmission.
    Let's hope the baby inherits his mother's looks and his father's intelligence.
  4. (transitive) To derive from people or conditions previously in force.
    This country has inherited an invidious class culture.
  5. (intransitive) To come into an inheritance.
    Lucky old Daniel – his grandfather died rich, and he's inherited.
  6. (computing, programming, transitive) To derive (existing functionality) from a superclass.
    ModalWindow inherits all the properties and methods of Window.
  7. (computing, programming, transitive) To derive a new class from (a superclass).
    • 2006, Daniel Solis, Illustrated C# 2005
      For example, the following two code segments, from different assemblies, show how easy it is to inherit a class from another assembly.
  8. (transitive, obsolete) To put in possession of.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

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