hered-, herit-

(Latin: heir; "he, or she, who obtains that which is left")

disinherit
disinheritance
heir (AIR; not HAIR)
1. One who is legally entitled to inherit and to own an estate after the previous owner’s death; beneficiary, inheritor, heir apparent: "The millionaire’s only heir was his son."
2. A person who inherits some title or office; a successor: "The CEO’s daughter became the new CEO in her father’s company.
3. A person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another.
4. A person who succeeds or is in line to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office.
5. Anyone who receives or is expected to receive a heritage, as of ideas, from a predecessor.
An heir is someone who may be worth more than others and still be worthless.
—Evan Esar
heir apparent (s) (noun), heirs apparent (pl)
1. Someone who will inherit the property of another person if he or she lives longer than the one who is currently possessing the material goods or title: "The queen's oldest son is heir apparent to the throne."
2. A person who is very likely to have a job or position after the one who has it now leaves: "The owner of the company named his son as heir apparent of the business."
heirdom
heiress
heirloom
hereditarily
hereditary
heredity
heredoretinopathia congenita
Hereditary retinopathy.
heritable (adjective), more heritable, most heritable
1. Capable of being transferred genetically from parent to offspring: Ginny's eyesight became worse as she grew older due to the heritable eye disorder her mother had.
2. Subject to being passed on by heirs-at-law: Jane's father did not make a will, and since she was his only relative still living, his heritable property was now in her possession.
heritably (adverb), more heritably, most heritably
Descriptive of how something is passed on from generation to generation: Being born with brown eyes is heritably possible if one of the parents, or one of their ancestors, had brown eyes too!
heritage
1. The status, conditions, or character acquired by being born into a particular family or social class.
2. A country's or area's history and historical buildings and sites which are considered to be of interest and value to present generations.
3. Something which passes from one generation to the next in a social group; for example, a way of life or traditional culture.
4. Property or land that is, or can be, passed on to an heir.
5. Etymology: from early 13th century, "that which may be inherited"; from Old French eritage; from heriter, "inherit"; from Late Latin hereditare; from Latin heres, heredis, "heir" (a person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to receive the estate of another person or someone who inherits, or gets, some title or office).
inherit