English
heritage
Heritage comes from Old French eritage, from Latin hērēs ‘heir, heiress’, 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 CEhērēs‘heir, heiress’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400eritage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heritage
- Englishearliest quotation 1652heritage
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 CEhērēs‘heir, heiress’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400eritage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heritage
- Englishearliest quotation 1652heritage
Earliest quotation: 1652, John Robotham, London: “Now unſpeakable happy are all thoſe that have ſuch…”
Equivalent to herit + -age
Latin hērēditō ‘to drive out, destroy’
Old French eriter
Middle French heriter
Middle English heriten
English herit
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- ‘to leave behind, abandon’
go, gone, forego, inherit, 20 more
through Latin hērēs ‘heir, heiress’
Today it means
noun An inheritance; property that may be inherited.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- / heritage