rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryhereditaryGenetic inheritance
adjective

hereditary

huh-RED-ih-tair-ee/həˈredɪteri/

Passed from one generation of a family to the next.

The kittens share their mother's hereditary ginger-and-white coat pattern.

A mother cat curls around two young kittens; all three share a distinctive ginger-and-white coat pattern, illustrating a physical trait inherited from parent to offspring.
Etymology
hereditLatininheritance
+aryLatinrelating to

The pieces describe something belonging to an inheritance. Applied to diseases and other bodily traits, that inheritance is the biological passing of qualities from parents to offspring.

In context

National Human Genome Research Institute6:55
And 5 to 10 percent of all cancers are hereditary, and they are due to single gene mutation in the germline
Integration of Genomics in Cancer Care & Issues in Caring for Individuals with Genetic Skin Disease

More examples

  • Eye color is a hereditary trait influenced by several genes.
  • The prince holds a hereditary title passed down through his family.
  • A genetic counselor explains whether the disorder is hereditary.

Forms

hereditary

heredity noun — Transmission of traits from parents to offspring.

Similar words

inherited
Emphasizes actual transmission rather than the ability to be passed down.
genetic
Relates to genes, including changes not inherited from parents.