heredity
UK /hɪˈɹɛdɪti/ · US /həˈɹɛdəti/ noun
Forms heredities
- noun Hereditary transmission of the physical and genetic qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants. “laws of heredity”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle French heredité, from Latin hērēditas (“condition of being an heir”), from hēres (“heir”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Hereditary transmission of the physical and psychical qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants. See Pangenesis.
Etymology [L. hereditas heirship.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “heredity”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details