English
heredity
Heredity comes from Middle French heredité ‘the right to inherit’, from Latin hērēditas ‘condition of being an heir’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- ‘to leave behind, abandon’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₁-‘to leave behind, abandon’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₁ro-‘derelict’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhēres‘heir’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEhērēditas‘condition of being an heir’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400eredité
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600heredité‘the right to inherit’
- Englishtodayheredity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₁-‘to leave behind, abandon’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₁ro-‘derelict’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhēres‘heir’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEhērēditas‘condition of being an heir’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400eredité
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600heredité‘the right to inherit’
- Englishtodayheredity
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- ‘to leave behind, abandon’
go, gone, inherit, forego, 21 more
through Latin hēres ‘heir’
Today it means
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.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- / heredity