English
heritor
Heritor comes from Anglo-Norman heriter, from Late Latin hērēditārius ‘hereditary’, 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
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhērēs‘heir’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEhērēditārius‘hereditary’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEhērēditārium
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400heriter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘an heir to property or a title’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1881heritor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₁-‘to leave behind, abandon’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₁ro-‘derelict’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhērēs‘heir’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEhērēditārius‘hereditary’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEhērēditārium
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400heriter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘an heir to property or a title’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1881heritor
Earliest quotation: a. 1881, Oscar Wilde: “How comes it then that from such high estate…”
Equivalent to herit + -or
Latin hērēditō ‘to drive out, destroy’
Old French eriter
Middle French heriter
Middle English heriten
English herit
The story
In the 16th century conformed to agent nouns in -our, -or.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- ‘to leave behind, abandon’
go, gone, inherit, forego, 20 more
through Late Latin hērēs ‘heir’
through Late Latin hērēditārius ‘hereditary’
Today it means
noun A person who inherits; an heir or heiress.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- / heritor