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Webster 1913 Edition
Primogeniture
Priˊmo-gen′i-ture
(?; 135)
, Noun.
1.
The state of being the firstborn of the same parents; seniority by birth among children of the same family.
2.
(Eng. Law)
The exclusive right of inheritance which belongs to the eldest son. Thus in England the right of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and in the royal family the eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the throne by primogeniture. In exceptional cases, among the female children, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the eldest daughter only and her issue.
Blackstone.
Webster 1828 Edition
Primogeniture
PRIMOGEN'ITURE
,Noun.
1.
The state of being born first of the same parents; seniority by birth among children.2.
In law, the right which belongs to the eldest son or daughter. Thus in Great Britain, the right of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and in the royal family, the eldest son of the king is entitled to the throne by primogeniture. Among the females, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the eldest daughter only and her issue.Before the revolution, primogeniture, in some of the American colonies, entitled the eldest son to a double portion of his father's estate, but this right has been abolished.